Biomedical science students dress for success

Football player Deion Sanders once famously said, “if you look good, you feel good, and when you feel good, you play good.” On Wednesday morning, second-year students in Newton High School teacher Jodi Morgan-Peters’ Human Body Systems had a chance to experience Sander’s credo for themselves; each student received a new white lab coat with their name stitched on the jacket.

The coats were donated by members of the community, several of which met with students for an early breakfast on Wednesday morning. The class, part of the high school’s biomedical science program, gives students an opportunity to learn about careers in the medical field. Under the umbrella of Project Lead The Way, a nationwide initiative focused on careers in engineering, science and the biomedical field, students are encouraged to hook up with partners in the community for one on one internships.

In the past students used generic white lab coats during class time but Morgan-Peters wanted to give each of the second year students their own lab coat, something they’d be able to take with them and use as they pursue their education beyond high school.

“They’ll have a lot of lab classes in college, I thought it would be fun for them to have a lab jacket,” Morgan-Peters said.

Junior Rachelle Romo said students were excited to receive the personalized lab jackets. As she put hers on during Wednesday’s breakfast meeting, she said wearing her jacket made her feel like a doctor. Students will be able to use the jackets for all of their classes, Romo said she’s eager to wear hers as she walks the halls of NHS.

“To have something personal to carry with you is really cool,” she said.

To fund the purchase of the lab coats, Morgan-Peters reached out to community members who’ve partnered with the program in the past. The response from donors was overwhelming, and last month Morgan-Peters was able to order the coats. Donors included Chad Klein, Kristi Rhoads, Julie Richtsmeier and Chantelle Lundberg. Morgan-Peters said she’s grateful for all the support students have received from the community.

“This course wouldn’t be nearly as cool without our community, they’re awesome,” Morgan-Peters said.

Donor Chantelle Lundberg said she’s happy to participate. As the funeral director of the Wallace Family Funeral Home in Newton she said she’s excited to see students learning about alternative careers in science. One of the career pathways students explore in Morgan-Peters’ class is working in the funeral home, and Lundberg has brought students into job shadow before. Giving students the opportunity to try out career options in high school gives them an opportunity to figure out what they want to do before starting college, Lundberg said.

“You have to keep your doors open and your mind open, there’s a lot of different pathways in the medical field,” Lundberg said. “You might find yourself going in a direction you might not think you’re going to take.”

Lundberg first reached out to Morgan-Peters several months ago, she wanted to know if any of the students in Morgan-Peters class would be interested working as a funeral director. Filling positions in the industry is more difficult than it used to be, and Lundberg is hoping to get students interested in the career path at an early age.

“It’s harder every day,” Lundberg said. “We used to be able to put an ad in the trade paper or reach out to the local mortuary school, but now we’re trying to mentor students in high school.”

Giving students a chance to job shadow, Lundberg is part of what Morgan-Peters class is all about; she wants students to see what options are out there. Every classroom lesson is tied into a related career field, as students work their way through the coursework they are exposed to career paths they may not have considered. For Romo, who plans to study biomedical engineering after high school, the class has been an eye-opener.

“We researched careers I didn’t even know existed,” Romo said.

Contact David Dolmage at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or ddolmage@newtondailynews.com