MOULTRIE — A record 34 high school students from Colquitt County and the surrounding area gathered on campus the first week of June for PCOM’s sixth “Opportunities Academy.” This was a week-long summer enrichment program that brought together teens to explore potential career tracks in medicine and health care.

This year, participants came from Colquitt, Thomas, Ben Hill and Lee counties. The students, all of whom are interested in health care careers, participated in activities to help prepare them for academic pursuits and their future careers. PCOM second-year doctor of osteopathic medicine students, who served as mentors for groups of participants, created each day’s agenda. So, it ranged from activities like CPR training to simulated medical emergencies. Three previous participants, one still in high school and two undergraduate college students, returned to serve as junior mentors.

Participants came from different backgrounds and with different goals.

“I decided to come to Opportunities Academy because I love the healthcare field,” said Rylee Kilgore, a rising senior from Moultrie. “It’s like one of my many passions, and I just wanted to learn more.”

She wants to be a pediatric cardiologist.

“I have heart problems,” she said. “I want to help other people who have heart problems.”

Perhaps that’s why Kilgore’s favorite activity at “Opportunities Academy” involved the heart.

“I liked dissecting the sheep heart,” she said. “It was pretty fun to me. I wanted to know what the anatomy of the heart really looked like, and they said it looks pretty similar to the human heart.”

Cruz Martinez, also a rising senior from Moultrie, said, “My favorite activity was probably when we were intubating a dummy patient in the simulation lab.”

Martinez continued, “My mentor, LaKaiya, was very helpful. She gave me a lot of information, like how to better prepare for college.”

Zyrlan Clark, a rising junior from Thomas County Central High School, wants to be a pediatrician.

“I came to Opportunities Academy because I want to be in the healthcare field, and I love being around other people, other peers that want to be in health care,” he said. “I love being around kids and helping out in the community. I also like working with children at the Thomasville Resource Center. It’s a great place.”

While Clark enjoyed all the STEM activities, his favorite part of Opportunities Academy was the people.

“I have met so many people here from other schools that I never would have met,” Clark said. “It’s been a fun experience.”

Then, at the end of the week, Opportunities Academy participants invited their families to a luncheon and closing ceremony. Similar to medical school students, each participant received a white coat, a stethoscope and a certificate of completion.