What to Expect During SMYSP
Your SMYSP summer experience will serve as a time for you to explore new concepts and topics in health, medicine, advocacy, and social justice. It will provide opportunities for you to think about your role in society, locally and globally, and the responsibility you have to it. This program is possible because of the incredible students and staff who have created these rich opportunities, and a family that will stay with you long after the program ends—a family rich in history, steeped in tradition, and poised for the future.
Learn more about the various program components you can expect this summer.
Anatomy Lecture and Lab Series
Our anatomy course will be held twice a week, first with a one-hour regional anatomy lecture and followed by a one-and-a-half-hour virtual lab experience. This course will be a systems-based overview of human structure and function, with clinical correlates to tie in relevant pathologies. You will then join our anatomy instructors virtually as they review the lecture material with you using dissections, prosections, and 3D virtual anatomy software from Stanford Medicine’s Anatomy Lab.
Public Health Lecture Series
Each week you will participate in a Public Health workshop to help broaden your understanding of how we can cultivate and encourage healthy lifestyles and communities. We will take a closer look at various health disparities, the intersection of public health and medicine, and applications of public health interventions.
College Admissions and Professional Development
In our weekly College Planning workshop series, you will learn about the different components of the college application process, including financial aid, personal statement and essay writing, how admissions decisions are made, and how to be a successful college student. We will dive deeper into topics such as imposter syndrome and the path to medicine as a first-generation student. You will also participate in a weekly Professional Development workshop to help you strengthen your leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.
Research Writing and Methods Course
Each week you will participate in a workshop on scientific research, including how to conduct a literature review, draft an outline, scientific writing, and presentation skills.
Spotlight Lectures from Healthcare Professionals
The SMYSP Lecture Series invites faculty, staff, and community members to speak to students about the various yet integral issues of health, science, education, technology, and other emerging fields and topics. Lectures include such topics as adolescent and geriatric health, social advocacy, environmental health, and technological advancements.
Career and College Panels
Members of the SMYSP community will join us each week to share their stories and experiences about their journeys through higher education, medicine, and science. This is an excellent opportunity for you to network with college students and professionals in fields and spaces you are interested in pursuing.
One-on-One Mentorship
To help you learn about the various career and education pathways to medicine, science, and healthcare, SMYSP groups participants with a professional or graduate student in the medicine and STEM sectors. With your mentor, you will have the opportunity to talk about career options, college, medical school, life experiences, and more as you learn from them to help you on your journey.
Small Group Research Project
The culmination of your SMYSP experience will be to complete and present a Public Health Research Paper. Each group will choose a topic, and project details will be reviewed in our first week. You will have time to work individually and in your group throughout each week, and each group will have a Research Mentor to support you through the research project.
Cohort Time
We will set aside time throughout the week to take a break from lectures and projects and get to know each other. Whether it’s through trivia, games, talent shows, or talking about our favorite hobbies, Cohort Time is where we can come together and build friendships we hope will carry beyond your time with SMYSP.