Southeast Regional Center Recruits for 6th Biomedical Career Advancement Program
As the Biomedical Career Advancement Program (BCAP) program enters its 6th year, staff from the Southeast Regional Center (SERC) are busy working to recruit Wayne County high school students to participate. This year's recruitment efforts are multi-faceted and include the launching of the BCAP Ambassadors program. BCAP Ambassadors are students that successfully completed BCAP the previous year. They are asked to speak with their peers about their BCAP experience and refer eligible students to apply. Ambassadors also work to connect SERC staff with teachers and counselors in their schools to broaden the reach of our recruitment efforts.
SERC has also had a presence at various resources fairs in the community. They had a table at the Detroit Area Parent Conference in January, which was hosted by the Detroit College Access Network and Wayne State University. This event was to inform parents of the various programs and resources available to support their students to and through college. In February, SERC hosted a table at The Power of Girlhood's Resource Fair. This community resource fair exposed parents to a variety of summer programs for their students.
The Biomedical Career Advancement Program (BCAP) was established in 2014 by Jennell White, PhD. Dr. White is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology at Wayne State University School of Medicine (WSU-SOM). She has a passion for exposing youth to health science careers, especially those that come from historically underrepresented backgrounds. Each summer, approximately 60 high school students work alongside research faculty from WSU-SOM to complete a research project. Students also participate in weekly enrichment sessions with a focus on the college admission process, health science careers and networking with peers and health professionals.
SERC staff are looking forward to working with the BCAP 2020 participants this summer.
