UNC Asheville Pre-College Programs Launch Summer 2021

By UNC Asheville

June 21^st, 2021

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More than two dozen high school students started their college exploration extra early this summer, with a Pre-College Program in pre-med or aerospace engineering at UNC Asheville. The inaugural scholars spent a week on campus June 13-18, 2021, with classroom assignments, field trips, campus recreation, and fun all around.

“It was really wonderful to see the students’, as well as the parents’, excitement as they described the week-long experience in the teams’ final patient presentation,” said Dr. Amanda Maxwell, lecturer and pre-health professions advisor at UNC Asheville, and instructor for the pre-med Pre-College Program. “Students not only delved into technical aspects of anatomy, microbiology and biochemistry, but they also addressed the importance of caring for unique social needs and concerns of different individuals. We hoped to provide a window into UNC Asheville’s educational approach as well as the varied disciplines involved in healthcare and you could really tell that new sparks of interest have been ignited.”

The week started with a welcome dinner (Carolina BBQ, of course, with a dessert of local ice cream from The Hop – a UNC Asheville alumni-owned business), followed by a campus scavenger hunt so the newest Bulldogs could explore their week-long college home.

UNC Asheville Pre-College Programs Launch Summer 2021

The pre-med students started on their studies to learn about a patient care and an ultimate goal to provide a diagnosis for specific cases, while the Destination Space participants learned about NASA mission, and their own mission to design a patch later in the week. With sunny summer weather for the week, and little chance of rain, they set up telescopes on the Quad to observe sun flares and sunspots.

By day three, the engineering students had constructed their own rockets. Each one launched 800-900 feet in the sky above the intramural fields, released a parachute and came back down. All were retrieved along with the weather data they collected, though one landed on a nearby building roof and required the expertise and master key ring of Campus Operations. Meanwhile by day three pre-med students had learned to take blood pressure, dissected pig hearts, completed mock testing for COVID-19, identified bacteria, and were soon to determine the antibiotic resistance and recommend treatment for their patient cases.

Evening adventures led into Asheville, as both programs enjoyed an Asheville Tourists baseball game. Back on campus, they played pickleball, visited Lookout Observatory, went to the indoor pool, or played a little pool in Highsmith Student Union.

UNC Asheville’s Pre-College Programs introduce high school students to college-level study, university life, and career options in a dynamic learning environment. Each one-week residential program offers deep immersion into an academic topic, challenging activities, and the opportunity to experience campus life.

To learn more about UNC Asheville’s Summer Pre-College Programs, visit https://camps.unca.edu/pre-college-programs/ or follow the programs at https://www.facebook.com/UNCAshevilleCamps.

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