ACC Introduces Middle Schoolers to Medicine

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According to a report from the Association of American Medical Colleges, in 2014, only 515 black men were accepted into and enrolled in U.S. medical schools — down from 541 in 1978.

One solution to this nationwide shortage is to create mentoring programs, which not only expose minority males to the medical field, but also present them with the tools needed to get into medical school, pay tuition and be successful.

Enter Lakeisha Vance, head of ACC’s [Alamance Community College’s] Department of Computer Information and Technology, who’s led the three-week Medical Bridge Camp for the last two years.

She says the most rewarding part of the experience is seeing the boys get excited about science, often leaning over to coach friends beside them when they’re in the middle of projects.

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Seeing successful black men in the medical field — men they can look up to — is just as essential.

That’s why, beginning July 16, they’ll spend a week at UNC-Chapel Hill’s medical school, touring labs, meeting current students and getting a feel for what their lives could be like 10 years from now.

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She hopes that the program, which is currently funded in full by the ACC Foundation, will be able to expand in the next few years to follow the boys through high school and up until college.

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