UNMC program mentors North Omaha teens

North Omaha students participate in UNMC’s youth mentoring workshop.

The fifth annual Stepping Forward/Reaching Back, a youth mentoring workshop, offered more than 60 minority middle and high school students a good look at what it takes to pursue a health professions career.

Sponsored by UNMC’s Office of Student Equity and Multicultural Affairs, participants are invited based on their general interest in math and science. This year, students represented Monroe Middle School and Central and North High Schools.

The primary purpose of the program is to encourage students to obtain a college education, said La Don Bean, a doctoral student in UNMC’s Biomedical Research Training Program and founder of Stepping Forward/Reaching Back. In fact, the students are urged to see the undergraduate degree as a minimum level of advanced education.

Dr. Rubens Pamies gives student a 10-point guide to achieving their dreams.

The program, which emphasizes how critical academic achievement in math and science is to opportunities in advanced technology and biomedical careers, always features African American male and female professionals as role models in mathematics, engineering, science and medicine.

On Sept. 15, the North Omaha youths received a series of morning presentations, followed by a campus tour and lunch with faculty and staff members. This year’s presenters and their topics included: Sherman Petite and Sharon Palmer, OSEMA staff/outreach retention specialists, on a number of programs available to students at UNMC; Hayden Sterling, physician assistant in the UNMC Department of Hematology/Oncology, on the profession; Franchell Watson, admissions council from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, on admissions policies and financial aid opportunities; Rubens Pamies, M.D., vice chancellor of academic affairs and dean of graduate studies, on 10 keys to success; and Angela Dixon and Eric Easton, electrical engineers at the Omaha Public Power District and graduates of the historically black college, Prairie View A&M, on how to prepare for an advanced technology degree while still in high school.

Franchell Watson, an admissions counselor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, talks to a group of students during the day.

The number of middle school students who continue to come after they reach high school registers the success of Stepping Forward/Reaching Back. In addition, participation by public school faculty members has been key to the growth of the program. This year a certificate of appreciation was given to Monroe Middle School Counselor Rinalda Butts, who has escorted students from her school since the program’s inception.

Dr. Pamies’ insights on success apply to students well beyond their high school years. His presentation highlighted the following points:

• Find something you love to do and then find a way to make a living from it.
  
• Thoroughly investigate what you want to do and set goals as to how you want to get there.
  
• God will never let a man drown if he believes in God and also knows how to swim. You must have faith in your dreams, but you also have to prepare yourself.
  
• Use your time wisely. You only have 24 hours in a day. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow isn’t here yet. Make the most of today.
  
• Accept the fact that you will not always be successful. That’s why they put erasers on pencils. Mistakes are learning opportunities.
  
• Ask for help. No person is an island. There are always people who know more than you do. Let them help you.
  
• Be confident, but not cocky.
  
• Make the right decisions in your personal life. You know right from wrong.
  
• Take time to rest and rejuvenate yourself. Everyone needs to take a break from their labors.
  
• When you reach your goals, go back and help someone else. Always thank everyone who made a difference in your life.