HSA alumni show current students the path ahead

This year’s UNMC High School Alliance anatomy students had a chance to call on the experience of HSA alumni who now are pursuing health care-related careers.

Six alumni — who have advanced their health care education at UNMC — participated in a panel May 10 at the culminating event for the 39 high school students participating in the anatomy course this year.

The alumni were:   

• Jayden Jensen, current doctor of physical therapy student at UNMC and 2015-2016 HSA alum.
• Ziomara Jurado, 2022 graduate from the UNMC College of Medicine and 2012-2013 HSA alum.
• Connor Beyersdorf, 2022 graduate from the UNMC College of Medicine and 2013-2014 HSA alum.
• Jakob Phillips, 2022 graduate from UNMC Graduate Studies and 2015-2016 HSA alum. 
• Samantha Wood, 2022 graduate from the UNMC College of Nursing and 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 HSA alum.
• Brianna Martinie Anderson, current UNMC College of Pharmacy student and 2014-2015 HSA alum.

The panelists said the HSA coursework made a difference. Beyersdorf said his HSA experience helped him figure out what discipline he wanted to pursue and gave him the confidence to do it.

Said Wood, "The rigor of the courses you take through HSA really helps you handle challenging courses in college."

The alumni urged the aspiring high school students to persevere.

Pursuing a career in health care is not going to be easy, Jensen said. "I think you know you’re in the right field when … you are being challenged throughout the whole process."

In a survey after the panel, one high school student said that hearing about the journeys to medicine was valuable.

"They all mentioned how throughout this journey many of them have failed multiple times but got right back up and started again and finally are making it the distance," the student said. "This was really reassuring to hear as it is going to get much more difficult along the way, and as long as I keep working toward it, I can reach the same positions they are in."

Ethan Snow, PhD, assistant professor in the UNMC Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy and director of the HSA anatomy course, said the High School Alliance program is producing leaders in health care.

Said Dr. Snow, who moderated the panel, "We see that in these panelists — not just in their abilities and responses, but their excitement to voluntarily return years later and give back to the program like this."