Undergraduate students from across Nebraska on a pathway to UNMC visited their future destinations earlier this month, with a call to begin their professional journeys now.
Some 220 students in UNMC’s health opportunities programs – the Rural, Kearney and Urban Health Opportunities Programs – made their annual visits to the UNMC Omaha campus and the UNMC College of Dentistry in Lincoln on Oct. 5-6.
Interim Chancellor H. Dele Davies, MD, told the students that the pathway programs are doing more than preparing them for their future education and careers in health care – they are training them to be leaders and advocates who inspire others.
“This is not just a visit,” Dr. Davies said. “This is a glimpse into the future for you.”
Kyle Meyer, PhD, UNMC’s associate vice chancellor for health workforce initiatives, agreed that the students – undergraduates at the University of Nebraska campuses in Omaha and Kearney and at Nebraska State Colleges – should already consider themselves part of the UNMC community.
“You have made a commitment to the State of Nebraska and its citizens to become the next generation of health care providers,” Dr. Meyer said. “The faculty and advisers at your respective colleges and at UNMC are equally committed to ensuring the success of your professional journey – a journey that begins now.”
In Omaha, pathway students met at the Truhlsen Campus Events Center, while in Lincoln future dental health professionals were connected by iWALL video feed to hear from Dr. Davies and Elizabeth Blaser, who kicked off this year’s visit.
Blaser is a current UNMC medical school student in the Class of ’27 and a graduate of the Rural Health Opportunities Program at Wayne State College.
“Growing up on a family farm taught me the value of hard work, community and connection,” said Blaser, who is from Duncan, Nebraska. “And this program has given me the tools to carry those values forward as I prepare to serve rural communities in the future.”
As the day progressed, those in Omaha heard from a panel who highlighted UNMC resources and visited the iEXCEL program, gaining insight into technology they will use as part of their training. Pre-dentistry students in Lincoln toured the UNMC College of Dentistry, met with dentistry faculty and heard from experts about financial wellness as a student.
The pathway programs feed an important health workforce pipeline across rural and underserved communities across Nebraska.
Students accepted into the programs receive tuition waivers toward completion of their undergraduate programs at partner institutions. After graduating, they move on to UNMC – on a track to return to rural and underserved communities in Nebraska to start their health care careers.
Bella Gerloff is studying molecular and biomedical biology at UNO through the Urban Health Opportunities Program. Gerloff, who brought experience in the UNMC High School Alliance, said it has been amazing “gaining connections everywhere.”
“It’s challenging,” she said. “But I know I have a good path that I’m going on.”
Breckin Berg is studying at Peru State College in the Rural Health Opportunities Program, with plans to become a pharmacist. He said the program is preparing him well, while also giving him experience in research.
Being on campus at UNMC, Berg said, “I feel like it kind of cements me wanting to be here more.”
Derek Pfeifer, a student in the Kearney Health Opportunities Program, said he has a passion for dentistry and wants to practice in rural Nebraska, perhaps even his hometown of Central City.
Pfeifer said he enjoys the professors in the UNK program and the learning community of fellow students. “I do believe that who you surround yourself with is who you’re going to be like,” he said.
As for his next step in his education, he said he has visited the UNMC College of Dentistry and really liked it.
“UNMC is where I best see myself right now,” he said.