Summer Mentorship Program
Held every summer right after the Independence Day holiday, the Penn Summer Mentorship Program aims to inspire lower-income Philadelphia high-school students to view higher education as an achievable goal. This university–Philadelphia School District initiative, part of Summer at Penn and sponsored by Penn's Office of the Provost, gives local students a chance to attend a summer session at Penn’s school of medicine, veterinary medicine, law, nursing, dental medicine, education or engineering.
The program offers motivated students a glimpse into the lives of professionals in one of the above-mentioned fields. Entry into the highly competitive six-week program is open to students who have completed 10th or 11th grade at any Philadelphia high school. Special consideration may be given to students who have overcome tremendous challenges in their personal lives, may be the first in their family to attend college or are from single-parent households.
The coordinator for Penn Vet’s 2008 Summer Mentorship Program—the first time the school has participated—was second-year student Takis Weekes. Six students were selected by Penn Vet for the program this year: three from Walter B. Saul High School of Agricultural Sciences, one from Bodine High School for International Affairs, one from the Science Leadership Academy and one is home-schooled. The students toured the sections of Cardiology, Radiology, Intensive Care and Special Species at the Matthew J. Ryan Veterinary Hospital in Philadelphia and heard lectures from faculty members in each specialty. They also toured New Bolton Center, Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society (with Michael Moyer, V’90, head of Penn Vet’s Shelter Animal Medicine Program), the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, N.J. (with Donald Stremme, V’75) and the Philadelphia Zoo.
Dr. Adrian Morrison, professor emeritus in animal biology and director of the Laboratory for Study of the Brain in Sleep, lectured the students on the ruminant stomach; Dr. Michael Atchison, professor of animal biology and director of the VMD-PhD Program, spoke on research; and two current vet students also addressed the group. For near-term practical instruction, Rob DiMeo, Penn Vet’s admissions counselor, explained undergraduate and Penn Vet admissions processes.
Finally, the group had five lessons in anatomy, with laboratory sessions, and was present in Pathology on three occasions to observe. On the final day of the program, the students presented research they had completed on different aspects of breeding at the closing ceremony, with students from Penn’s other participating schools. ♦