High school students from across West Virginia got a feel for college life this summer during the Health Sciences & Technology Academy’s 31st annual summer camp program. Hosted on college campuses throughout the Mountain State, the week-long experiences provide students with opportunities for exploration, learning and fun.

HSTA, implemented through West Virginia University Health Sciences, is a one-of-a-kind mentoring program that supports underserved middle and high school students, connecting them to the resources and opportunities needed to succeed in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine – STEM+M – undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

Summer camps for high school students at all grade levels include classes, workshops and field trips that allow participants to learn skills necessary for college success and opportunities to meet HSTA students from across the state. Tailored to each grade level, students have the opportunity to experience life on a college campus.

“Immersing HSTA high school students in a college campus environment during our summer program provides a unique opportunity for them to experience firsthand the atmosphere and opportunities of higher education,” Summer Kuhn, director of the HSTA Summer Institute, said. “This experience not only fosters personal growth and independence but also cultivates a supportive community that encourages academic achievement and future success.”

This summer, rising juniors and seniors traveled to the WVU campus in Morgantown from 25 of the 27 counties served by HSTA for an in-depth study of a specific subject related to health. Students can choose from programs including pathology, anatomy, microbiology, nursing and more.

Working with faculty from across campus in the College of Applied Human Sciences, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, School of Medicine, School of Nursing, WVU Extension and WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, students participated in activities such as CPR, First Aid and Stop the Bleed training in the WV STEPS Center, experiment setup and analysis using the Comprehensive Lab Animal Monitoring System and exploration of neurochemical pathways in zebrafish.

The students also had the chance to expand their training through a new opportunity provided by a Science Education Partnership Award. HSTA TEAMS – Teaching Educators and Adolescents Mentoring and Science to Improve Community Health – was developed to engage middle school students and is funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health.

Throughout the camp, the juniors and seniors learned about mentoring and how to deliver STEM+M activities to their middle school peers. The training also assists the students in developing and executing their research project.

“With the support of the NIH, the West Virginia Legislature and West Virginia University, the HSTA program is transforming the future of West Virginia by empowering high school students to mentor middle schoolers, igniting their passion for STEM+M through engaging, interactive activities and sharing their own career aspirations,” Cathy Morton, HSTA director, said. “HSTA students inspire the next generation to dream big and achieve more. Together, we are building a brighter, more prosperous future for our state.”

For seniors, the camp was a culmination of summer experiences throughout high school, each building on the previous year’s lessons. As rising freshmen, students explore a variety of STEM+M experiences and are introduced to HSTA and community-based research. Sophomores expand on their HSTA programming from the previous year with an immersive experience focused on an area of interest, such as forensics, coding or engineering, where they emphasize skills that can be used to develop community-based research projects. This year’s freshman and sophomore summer camps were held at WVU Potomac State College, Marshall University and WVU Tech and Glenville State University, respectively.

“I see my HSTA students succeed in college and move on to a great career because of the support provided by the program,” Shane Hanna, HSTA teacher at Greenbrier East High School, said. “It is very gratifying to see them realize that West Virginia truly is almost heaven and return to serve their communities and raise their families.”