News Release

Local angles: Chapel Hill, Durham, Raleigh, Greensboro,
Elizabeth City, Pembroke, Winston-Salem, Atlanta

Local students complete enrichment program
aimed at boosting their success in the sciences

CHAPEL HILL - Forty-six college students have completed a summer program designed to help prepare minority and educationally and economically disadvantaged students for the rigors of health-related graduate and professional training programs.

The eight-week Science Enrichment Preparation Program is conducted by the North Carolina Health Careers Access Program (NC-HCAP), an inter-institutional program of the University of North Carolina based at UNC-Chapel Hill.

The summer program features a rigorous honors-level academic enrichment program for rising sophomores and juniors in disciplines ranging from physics and organic chemistry to human physiology, quantitative skills and biostatistics. Students also have classes and seminars in improving reading speed and comprehension, test-taking strategies, essay writing and interview techniques. Field trips to area health care and biomedical research facilities expose students to a variety of career options and allow them to discuss their career interests with health-care professionals and biomedical scientists.

Several students received awards at a closing celebration on July 14. The event also recognized the 46 program graduates.

Award winners include:

• Yenoh Adam-Samura, a junior at UNC-Chapel Hill;
• Annika Barnett, a sophomore at North Carolina Central University;
  
• John Bocock, a graduate student at UNC-Greensboro;
  
• LaShana Chambers, a junior at Elizabeth City State University;
  
• Matthew Dial, a junior at UNC-Pembroke;
  
• Nicholas Gordon, a junior at Morehouse College;
  
• Shannon Hicks, a junior at Wake Forest University;
  
• Bryan Howington, a junior at UNC-Pembroke;
  
• Jonathon Iradi, a junior at UNC-Greensboro;
  
• Daniel Joe, a senior at North Carolina State University;
  
• Matthew Lau, a sophomore at UNC-Chapel Hill;
  
• Alicia Moorer, a junior at North Carolina State University;
  
• Kyrone Nebolisa, a sophomore at North Carolina State University;
  
• Candice Roberts, a junior at Western Carolina University;
  
• Octavio Rodriguez, a junior at North Carolina State university;
  
• Shanique Shaw, a junior at UNC-Chapel Hill; and
  
• Dennis Smythe-Macauley, a junior at UNC-Chapel Hill.

NC-HCAP aims to increase the number of underrepresented minorities or other individuals from educationally or economically disadvantaged backgrounds trained, educated and employed in the health professions.

Since 1979, 789 students have completed the SEP Program. Of that number, 84 percent are practicing in a health-care field, enrolled in health professions training programs, or are completing undergraduate prerequisites for these programs.

For more information on the Science Enrichment Preparation Program, call (919) 966-2264 or click on http://nchcap.unc.edu.

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NC-HCAP contact: Renee King, (919) 966-2264, rhking@email.unc.edu
News Services contact: Becky Oskin, (919) 962-8596, becky_oskin@unc.edu