Fifty middle- and high-school students from Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley listened attentively as Irene Chapa, Ph.D., explained how scalpels, pointers and forceps are used.

Then came the part they had been waiting for.

“We’re going to give everybody an eyeball,” said Dr. Chapa, recruitment and science outreach coordinator at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

The students got down to business, dissecting the sheep eyes they had been given and identifying the parts they found inside. It was one of a number of hands-on experiences they would have during their three-day visit March 17-19.

Nicole Banks from Laredo’s Nixon High School learns about dentistry during a trip to The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Students learned to culture bacteria, put in intravenous catheters and much more during a three-day visit to the San Antonio campus.
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The students also got a chance to learn about the world that cannot be seen with the naked eye as they swabbed themselves and their possessions to culture the bacteria growing there. And they learned to intubate a patient and insert an intravenous catheter on anatomical models in the School of Health Professions.

It was all part of the Health Science Center’s Med Ed Program, which encourages South Texas students to pursue careers in medicine, dentistry, nursing, research and other health professions. Med Ed offers participants year-round opportunities for academic enrichment, community service and field trips.

“The focus of this program is to motivate them and get them excited about potential careers in science,” Dr. Chapa said. “It’s really about opening their eyes to the opportunities out there if they pursue a solid education.”

In the laboratory last Wednesday, the students approached the dissection with enthusiasm – and they learned a few things along the way. For example, they learned how to find the lens of the eye. They also learned that formaldehyde-preserved eyeballs go in the biohazard bag, not the trash.

By the time they got on the buses to head home on Thursday, the students indicated they had confirmed their interest in science. The challenge now was to decide which of the many careers they had been presented with to pursue.