Local students explore medicine with LECOM's Medical Science Academy

From lectures to sheep's lung dissections and clinical shadowing, local high school students are getting a hands-on approach to potential medical careers through LECOM Bradenton's (Lake Erie College of Medicine) Medical Science Academy. 

Forty-seven students from 20 different high schools in six different counties are participating in the two-week program. These juniors and seniors get to explore more about science in medicine and network with both LECOM students and professors. LECOM has also teamed up with local physicians and hospitals for more field experiences. 

The program has been offered since 2008; Kersten Schroeder, an assistant professor in biochemistry and the director of community outreach for LECOM, has been in charge since 2013. 

"Seeing the high schoolers realize they know a lot more than they do, and seeing them apply that, I think that's my favorite part," Schroeder said. 

For Tristin Roberts, a Venice High School junior, the program is an opportunity to learn more about a potential career path into a subject he enjoys — science.

"I love science, and medicine is science, so why not make money and also save lives?" Roberts said.