Most high school students wouldn’t think to add more classes on top of their course load, but that is exactly what senior Amelia Dieckman committed to as a part of the High School Alliance Program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC).
“I leave Yutan right after lunch, which works really well with my schedule. I drive 35 minutes to UNMC, which is a time commitment, but I think it’s worth it. I get to [UNMC] at 12:25 and then walk down where I need to go. I get where I need to go at one, and I have classes from one to three,” Dieckman said.
During this timeframe, Dieckman learns important skills that will help her during her future career, like taking blood pressure and vital signs in her classes Intro to Public Health and Study of Patient Care.
“We get to do some things with the med students, but it’s kind of a little high school program thing. It’s with a bunch of other high schoolers and we take classes that will be centered around the medical field like Study of Patient Care, Genetics, Infectious Disease, Intro to Public Health and Medical Imaging,” Dieckman said.
Dieckman decided to commit to the program with the support and encouragement from her family, her teachers and her friend Lila.
“I originally found out about [the High School Alliance Program] from my friend Lila, and I thought it sounded like a really cool program, so I applied to it. After the interview process, I ended up getting in, and it wasn’t until after the interview with them that I was like, ‘Wow, this is the place for me,’” Dieckman said.
The classes Dieckman is taking at UNMC are considered high school classes, but they are taught on a college level, which makes them more difficult.
“It’s a pretty prestigious program. The students will get to job shadow, have hands-on research and be able to learn while working alongside people in the healthcare field,” Yutan’s principal Stefanie Novotny said.
The classes Dieckman takes at UNMC are challenging but will benefit her later in her career as an occupational therapist.
“One reason I think that the High School Alliance program will benefit me is because it offers a lot of great shadowing opportunities. I will shadow an occupational therapist, which will give me a better idea if it’s really what I want to do,” Dieckman said.
Because of the future benefits, Dieckman considers herself lucky to be a part of the High School Alliance Program and would recommend the program to any students who are interested in the medical field.
“High School Alliance is a collection of some of the nicest, sweetest people I’ve met in my life, and it is just a great opportunity,” Dieckman said. “If you ever have the opportunity to do it, you should take it, especially if you want to be in the medical field.”
