Summer program Introduces first-year students to college, health careers

It was a can’t-miss opportunity for incoming students to gain a leg up in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses.

Centre College’s Summer Health Immersion Program (SHIP) invited students interested in a career in healthcare for a week of enrichment in the classroom with their future college professors.

“I was really nervous about taking general chemistry in the fall, and I want to do pre-med,” Caroline Toler said. “I was excited about the opportunity to get a bit of a head start — sort of re-learn some of the things I learned in high school chemistry — but also learn some new things so that I would be less nervous. 

“Now I’m a lot less nervous about general chemistry, and I’m actually looking forward to it.”

SHIP is a one-week immersion program in Olin Hall, a Centre classroom building devoted to STEM disciplines. During the week, students met professors, worked in the lab on point-of-care diagnostics and spoke with alumni who are putting their STEM majors to use.

“One goal of the program is to help students explore their career interest,” said Kari Young, Stodghill Associate Professor of Chemistry. “It’s important for students to develop the physical skills to be successful but also cultivate the idea that they’ll be challenged and supported at the same time. They can start thinking about those career questions — even if they don’t have it all figured out yet.”

Toler (Louisville, Kentucky) is exactly the type of incoming student SHIP appeals to, according to Associate Professor of Chemistry Daniel Scott. 

“It’s about setting them up for success, probably more emotionally and mentally than actual content,” Scott said. “Not that the content is not significant, but the ability to fail and try again and know that’s okay. ‘You’re not the only person who's struggling.’ We’re just getting them used to that growth mindset.”

For Carrie Olds (Crestwood, Kentucky), it was somewhat intimidating to meet her college professors — and she admitted that the “growth mindset” that Scott mentioned was not something she was accustomed to.

“I still remember one of the first tests when I didn’t get an ‘A’, and I was so mad,” Olds said. “But I learned to grow from that — and it’s the same thing here.”

Toler mentioned how excited she was to meet with recent alumni, sharing goals she could reach for in her Centre experience.

“There’s this term, ‘Centre Mafia,’ and it really does exist,” Toler said. “(The alumni) went on and on about how much they enjoyed Centre and how much it set them up for success. I’m really excited to be able to benefit from that and to set my own path. Everyone had their own unique path, and it’s a path of success.”

Scott said incoming students working in the classroom is a great way to begin their journey at Centre: The first day of SHIP included plenty of questions and “I don’t know” answers. By the end of the week, students were collecting, analyzing, tweaking procedures — a bigger picture that he and Young said helps normalize the challenges of getting into STEM courses.

“One of the things I really like about this research is that you start to do it, and you see yourself as a chemist, you see yourself as a scientist,” Scott said. “That sense of belonging, that purpose, we’ve seen it develop this week. They’re so much further along than where they thought they could be at the start of the week.”