Building a pipeline to South Atlanta High

Josh Ziperstein 11M (right) answers a question for Celethia Moreland (left) and Ta’Keyla Wright, two students at the South Atlanta School of Health and Medical Science, a division of South Atlanta High School. A new Emory medical student-driven program is building a pipeline to connect students like Celethia and Takeyla to the University as a way to foster interest in the sciences.

As an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania, Samuel Funt 10M participated in a pipeline program that connected college students with local high school students. The program’s main goals were to foster interest in the sciences, specifically in medicine, and help underprivileged students realize their academic potential. Now, as a second-year student at the Emory School of Medicine, Funt and his classmate, Zwade Marshall 05C 10M, have launched a similar program and built a pipeline to the South Atlanta School of Health and Medical Sciences, one of four divisions of South Atlanta High School.
           
“After three months of first-year classes,” Funt said, “it became very clear to me that I had many years to go before I would be able to really help people in a clinical setting. My classmate Zwade and I created the Pipeline Program because we didn’t want to have to wait to become master diagnosticians to begin improving the health of our community.”
           
However, the program wasn’t created over night. “Sam and Zwade worked tirelessly with several deans and program coordinators to bring this phenomenal program to fruition,” explained South Atlanta High Principal Termerion McCrary.
           
With the help of Robert Lee, associate dean for multicultural medical student affairs, Funt and Marshall established contacts within the APS (Atlanta Public Schools) and were eventually given the go-ahead to launch their program at the South Atlanta School of Health and Medical Sciences. Afterward, Marshall began recruiting undergraduate mentors for the program. Thirty-five applied and, after interviewing each candidate, 15 were selected to participate in the program.
           
“Our school population is disproportionately affected by generational poverty,” McCrary said. “Approximately 91 percent live below the federal poverty guideline. The statistics related to this demographic are alarming as it relates to teenage pregnancy, STDs and high school graduation rates. As such, many of our students come to school with limited expectations for their academic success.”
           
However, Funt and Marshall were determined to change that perception and even create a culture of ‘it’s cool to be smart’” among the students. “We believed that there was an opportunity to have big impact by working with the students of South Atlanta High School,” Funt said. “I didn’t fully realize the true power of our initiative, however, until the two of us traveled to the high school with the undergraduate mentors involved in the program.”
           
The first case the students worked on involved analyzing data and identifying the pathogen responsible for an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness following a church picnic. During the first two sessions, Funt explained, “the students had come to the new School of Medicine building” and been “exposed to advanced medical concepts and terminology.”
           
Then, for the third session, the undergraduate mentors traveled with Funt and Marshall to South Atlanta High. “For the first half-hour of our trip, Zwade and I watched as the high school students looked up epidemiological terms, sorted data on Excel, and calculated incubation times under the guidance of their undergraduate mentors. Eventually, one girl yelled out, ‘I caught you! It’s staph aureus endotoxin!’ I then heard another student say to his mentor, ‘I never knew I was this smart before.’ By the time we left South Atlanta, the students had solved a complicated problem and were excited to come back to Emory and report to the medical students what they had figured out.”
           
“My favorite component of the program is the relationships that our young people are building with the dedicated undergraduates and medical students at Emory,” McCrary said. “Each student has an undergraduate mentor who is committed to assisting their student with challenging case studies, while providing much needed advice on the college culture. It is evident that our students look forward to sharing their academic and personal milestones with their college mentors. Each student speaks with pride as they discuss academic success, colleges, and careers.”
           
“The medical students facilitate the case studies,” McCrary continued, “while fostering a nurturing learning environment. It is mind-blowing to witness how the students interact with case facilitators during the sessions. They are formulating thought-provoking questions that are relevant to personal and community health. As a direct result of their participation in this program, several students have expressed a desire to pursue a health-related career.”
           
“The program is already showing glimpses of success,” McCrary concluded. “The 26 students in the program have improved their average daily attendance by 26 percentage points, while making significant academic gains. During the first semester, 39.2 percent of the students failed at least one course at the mid-semester reporting period. We are proud to report that 86.6 percent of pipeline students are currently passing all courses.”
           
In addition, five of the Pipeline participants were recently accept to Emory’s Research Internships in Science and Engineering (RISE) program. Students who participate in the RISE program, in addition to receiving experience working in a laboratory, will be awarded a full scholarship if they apply to and are accepted into Emory College. Funt also added that after completing a case study on HIV, a number of students decided to work at Grady’s Teen Clinic where they will be trained as teen educators.
           
The closing ceremony for this school year took place on April 24.—Jessica Sanford 10C