The Alliance in Focus: Emma Fanning

Sixty-five members of the UNMC High School Alliance are among the students taking classes at UNMC this academic year.

The students come from high schools around Omaha and take college-level classes to prepare for health careers.

Today we meet:

• Name: Emma Fanning
• High school: Elkhorn High School
• Year: Senior

How did you learn about the UNMC High School Alliance?
I learned about this program from my counselor as well as from my mother; she worked with a parent of a student who was enrolled a few years ago. It sounded like a wonderful opportunity to become more familiar with the medical and science world as well as a college environment, so I applied.

What sparked your interest in science?

My mother has always been a role model for me. She is a science teacher at a middle school and always seemed to bring her work home with her. For the longest time I have dreamed of helping the world through science. I decided two years ago to make my career choice in genetics after I was introduced to the topic in my biology class. I could see myself in a lab making the effort to cure a genetic disease. I knew I had found my path.

What are your career aspirations?

I am currently working toward becoming a geneticist specializing in live animal genetics. In the next year I plan to go to Iowa State University where they have an undergraduate genetics program. Over the summer I completed early admission and was notified that I have been accepted.

Tell us your three favorite things about UNMC High School Alliance experience so far.

The UNMC High School Alliance has offered me a lot in the few short weeks I have been enrolled. I have been given many opportunities that my classic school environment would never have been able to provide.

• In my pathology class I have held a human brain.
• In my biomedical research class we are in the process of performing a PCR lab where we plan to manipulate a section of DNA that will eventually force the proteins into performing their fluorescent attributes.
• UNMC also has offered me a chance to meet with other scientific minds in Omaha and the surrounding areas.

I am so grateful for this opportunity. I truly believe that UNMC has already changed my life — it has given me a place where I feel my skills can be put to good use.