TEMPLE, Texas — A group of second graders at Temple Independent School District’s Western Hills Elementary School are being encouraged to “Dare to Dream” thanks to a partnership between Texas A&M School of Medicine, Baylor Scott and White Medical Center-Temple and Temple ISD.
“Dare to Dream” is a program that brings Texas A&M School of Medicine students and residents to the Western Hills campus to share with students about their experiences and the path those students and residents have followed to medical school. The medical students and residents also teach the students about different STEM-related topics during each visit to campus, with topics ranging from weather to life cycles to human anatomy. The program has changed and evolved over its history, in terms of participants from the school of medicine and Western Hills. This year, medical students and residents from Texas A&M School of Medicine have been meeting regularly with second grade gifted and talented students at Western Hills. While the main focus of each session is the STEM-related topic, both groups are learning much more than that from each presentation.
“While it provides our elementary students with an interactive approach to scientific concepts, Dare to Dream also teaches our medical students and residents the power of advocacy for the children in our community, to promote wellness not only in the clinic or hospital but also to promote educational wellness in the classroom and reinforce that the health of the child extends beyond the space of a clinic visit,” said Dr. Katie Carlin, General Pediatrician and Associate Program Director of the BSW-McLane’s Children’s Pediatric Residency Program. “We are so thankful for the administration and teachers at Western Hills Elementary and Temple ISD for allowing our medical students and residents to continue to teach the elementary students through Dare to Dream because through this, the children continue to teach us!”
“Our students love to work with the role models they have through this program,” said Tiffany Vestal, Principal of Western Hills Elementary School. “Getting to meet some new people who can share with them about their experiences and how they got where they are now has been wonderful for our kids. This has opened up some new doors for them to see another path they might not have ever thought of without this opportunity. So, Dare to Dream has taught them about not just STEM topics, but also some of the doors that knowledge can help open for them.”
The “Dare to Dream” program is now in its third year and the idea originated from Andrea Scott, who was a medical student at Texas A&M School of Medicine at the time. Her idea was to have medical students engaged in educating the next generation of students by teaching and mentoring elementary students, with a focus on STEM-related subject matter. Scott is now a resident and other medical students have joined in to help the program grow since its inception.
“The constant routine of studying and taking exams during medical school can often leave us medical students feeling drained, tired, and even sometimes discouraged,” said Jesper Jiang, a third-year Texas A&M School of Medicine student and “Dare to Dream” presenter. “Being able to do something like Dare to Dream gives us something new and exciting inserted into our daily routine to where we get to do something other than medical school and truly feel rejuvenated as well as encouraged by the energy that these kids bring. It also reminds us that medicine is so much more than just treating and diagnosing patients, it's also about relationships and actually being a part of and engaging in the community that you serve. And knowing that some of these kids are now considering to be physicians when they haven't before, makes it all the more special. Getting to hang out with these kids for an hour every month has truly been a highlight of my medical school career and it makes my future pediatrician heart very happy.”
“It has been exciting, and I’ve enjoyed learning about all of this stuff because I have two nurses in my family,” Western Hills second grader Zachary Havens said. “I have been wanting to become a doctor ever since I was little, so having a chance to learn from them has been fun.”
“Learning all of these new things has been my favorite part,” second grader Addison Prettyman added. “It has kind of made me want to think about being a doctor because hearing from them has been amazing.”
The “Dare to Dream” program is a part of Texas A&M School of Medicine’s community outreach program and the school has discussed expanding the program to its other branches, as well.