Solving a Pandemic at Summer Camp | ULM Forum 7-13-12

Learning in classrooms is traditional. What’s more challenging is how to apply knowledge in the real world. This week the Univerisity of Louisiana at Monroe offered a high dose of experiential learning at the first President’s Academy.

Fifty high achieving high schools students chose from three career tracks; Computer Science, Physical Science, and Medical Science, and worked in externships with CenturyLink, Angus Chemical, and E.A. Conway Medical Center to solve problems and learn in a team environment.

The students came to the ULM campus expecting a challenging week. What they found, though, might not have been what they expected. They were met with a room full of patients from a recent outbreak of an unknown disease, and are directed to interview the patients to learn more.

Clark

The "outbreak" becomes an epidemic, then a pandemic. The students employed teamwork, problem-solving skills and resourcefulness to create a plan to contain and treat the outbreak. Lynn Clark, co-director of the President's Academy, explains that the experience of solving problems on a team can cause students to grow in unexpected ways.

Dana Brown II, a student in the program from Pearl High School in Pearl Mississippi, says he found he fit in with his fellow students far better than he expected.