Before attending the University of Delaware Health Sciences Summer Camp, Jus-Tina Garcia had her future mapped out like the stars. She planned on becoming an astronomer.

But after spending the week checking out simulation labs used by nursing students, playing games in the virtual reality lab at UD’s Science, Technology and Advanced Research (STAR) Health Sciences Complex and visiting Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, the Concord High School junior has some other ideas about what she might like to do.

“I really like the environment of a hospital,” Garcia said.

The one-week camp is designed to give students exposure to education and job opportunities in health sciences, said Alyssa Benjamin, pipeline program coordinator for the College of Health Sciences. The camp, which drew more than 30 students from across Delaware and the region, focuses on students from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in higher education, including minorities, low-income and first-generation college students.

“We want to have our students stay in Delaware and come to the University of Delaware,” said Benjamin, who organized the week of activities for the students. “It’s good to show students what kind of things that are happening in health sciences and this is something that you can do.”   

The goal is to get some of these interested campers to eventually attend UD. That’s what happened with Jordan Carr, an incoming freshman at UD majoring in medical diagnostics. He participated in the inaugural health sciences camp last summer and wound up doing a co-op during the school year in the lab of Esther Biswas-Fiss, chair of the Department of Medical and Molecular Sciences.

The camp experience, combined with his co-op, deeply influenced Carr’s direction of study.

“At first I was looking to attend college as a biology major,” said Carr, who plans to go on to medical school. “But working alongside the graduates gave me much more insight into what medical diagnostics at the University of Delaware has to offer.”