Logan University hosted its seventh annual Anatomy Centered Education & Science (ACES) workshop for local high school students last week.
The week-long program features hands-on activities allowing high school students to explore careers in health care, anatomy, sports science and more. They also receive a certificate at the end that can be sited on their college applications.
“It’s probably one of the most hands-on programs in the St. Louis area,” said professor and director of strategic partnership and ACES founder Dana Underkofler-Mercer, DC, MS. “From acupuncture to surgical procedures to dissections, this program is great for students interested in these types of careers and wanting to learn more.”
The ACES program was created in 2017 by Dr. Mercer after realizing a need for high school students to experience and understand real world situations in the health care field.
“I’m a sophomore in high school and I know I am interested in science, but I am not sure what I want to do,” explained a Kirkwood High School student. “My goal for this camp was to get a better idea of what career I wanted to go into, and it has definitely helped me achieve that.”
Students had the opportunity to hear and learn from multiple health care professionals from Logan and the surrounding community.
“Having all these experts come in and teach you about different topics and what they do is really cool because you can figure out what you specifically like,” said a student from Ladue High School. “I think that is really special to experience.”
Dr. Mercer explains that planning for the 2024 ACES workshop is already underway.
“We are very excited for next year’s workshop because our brand-new state-of-the-art anatomy lab will be open and available for the students to learn in,” said Dr. Mercer.
Registration for the 2024 ACES workshop will open in October. To learn more, visit https://www.logan.edu/admissions/visit/aces/.