How many of us can remember the person who inspired our current career path? The inspiration may have been subtle, in the form of non-career-specific encouragement, perhaps from a special teacher, a neighbor, or a family member. Perhaps the inspiration was more specific – an aha moment of sorts – when you may have realized exactly what your career path should be. Or perhaps it was somewhere in the middle of those two extremes – a slow-building trajectory towards a career path that stemmed from an interest, a skill, or a particular activity.
Our Roseman faculty, staff, residents, and students have been out in full force in February, doing their fair share of spreading inspiration to young people among what will likely be the future healthcare providers of Nevada and Utah.
From February 26 to 28, a Roseman team took to Reno, Nevada to represent Roseman University as the Presenting Sponsor of the Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) Nevada State Leadership Conference. Our representatives included each of our colleges, Dr. David Rawlins and Lisa Stone from the College of Pharmacy, Dr. Erik Dillon and Camila Ayers-Montero from the College of Nursing, Marsha Stevens and Sheyla Pierre from the College of Medicine, and Dr. Kamran Awan from the College of Graduate Studies as well as Vanessa Hill, a P2 student who spoke to aspiring high – schoolers about the CVS Spanish Pathways Program and the profession of Pharmacy.
Our HOSA team manned our Roseman tables, talked to the 1,500 student attendees, met with academic advisors from various high schools, led Symposia sessions, presented awards, and presided over the Competitive sessions and judging. Dr. Catherine Oswald presented the keynote presentation, where she spoke of her unique journey into the healthcare world and her hairpin turn from medicine to pharmacy. As the presenting sponsor, the University was able to make a significant impact in building awareness for Roseman programs while interacting with students on a variety of healthcare topics. While these three days undoubtedly inspired future students, the inspiration flowed both ways, with our Roseman team marveling in the excitement, sophistication and promise of the high schoolers with whom they met. As many of our Roseman family can attest, these moments interacting with young people, truly are invigorating and restorative.
In Utah, students from the Alpine School District, the largest in the state of Utah, made their way to Roseman’s South Jordan campus on February 29th to learn about the various colleges through hands-on interactive activities presented by representatives from each college. Our presenters included Dr. Danielle Gundrum from the College of Pharmacy, Dr. Ryan Moffat and dental students from the College of Dental Medicine, Dr. Shamar Lejardi and our Simulation Lab team from the College of Nursing, Dr. Jeffrey Talbot, and Jeremy Wells. This amazing team created rich interactive activities that spurred discovery and intrigue for the high schoolers in attendance.
In Henderson, four of our orthodontic residents, Dr. Ryan Howard, Dr. Jeremy Kasik, Dr. Kristi Troung, and Dr. Denise Ng accompanied Dr. Glen Roberson to Treem Elementary and Jim Thorpe Elementary’s Career on Wheels event, meeting roughly 600 students and sharing their perspective on careers in dentistry and orthodontics. Attendees also got to score some Roseman swag and a flyer to learn more about our Dental Clinics and our current Orthodontic promotion. Special thanks to Tracey Rogan for working with us to make this wonderful day happen.
Finally, for the past year, the College of Dental Medicine has built a community partnership with Tomiyasu Elementary School, a Title 1 School in Las Vegas. In addition to providing Career Day presentations to inspire students to future paths in healthcare (Spring 2023 and Spring 2024), pediatric dental faculty also serve as the as-needed on-campus screening dentist for any student who may have difficulty accessing dental care. The College is looking forward to expanding this much-needed service to more schools as our academic programs grow in Southern Nevada.
In the spirit of February as National Children’s Dental Awareness Month, Dr. Alice Chen also visited all three kindergarten classes in McDoniel Elementary School in Henderson, NV to educate young students about dental care and oral health.
Capturing the impact of these activities is far greater than a list of activities, dates and number of attendees. Roseman continues to unite the heart and science of healthcare with its caring outreach to the communities we serve. We heal, inspire and impact the hearts and minds of countless young people and adults. We likely catalyze the creation of new career paths for students who may not have the resources, exposure or mentors to consider a career in the health sciences. At the same time, the Roseman faculty, staff, residents and students involved with these activities reap many rewards, the greatest of which is inspiration in the promise of the next generation.