LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) — Cancer has touched nearly everyone’s life, and eighth-grade students at Heir Force Community School are learning more about the disease from medical experts.
The students visited Mercy Health’s Graduate Medical Education Building to learn how cancer develops, what can cause it, and examine real cancer specimens.
Each year, Heir Force brings groups to Mercy Health to expose them to career possibilities. The goal is to break down stigmas surrounding STEM-related careers and encourage students to pursue them.
Each year, Heir Force brings groups to Mercy Health to expose them to career possibilities.
“We're trying to use partnerships that will enable them to have experiences that will get them excited about, particularly in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. And hopefully, if there's one kid in that room you know, or let alone more than one, you know, that spark kind of hits where, you know, they see this as a way to where they could not only find that purpose and passion, but also create a career,” said Dr. Willie Heggins, executive director of Heir Force Community School.
Lexi Bagley-Cook, an eighth grader at Heir Force, is considering a career in nursing. The hands-on experience in the medical field reinforced that path for her.
“Like it shows me what cancer actually is. It shows me all the other type of things besides cancer. It's all type of cancers. It's not just one type of cancer, like ovarian cancer, it's a lot of type of cancer. You might think it's gross at first, but when you actually start learning about it, and you might want to do it,” said Bagley-Cook.
Students also learned about genetic testing and how it could be used in the future to determine who may be at risk for developing cancer.
Students also learned about genetic testing and how it could be used in the future to determine who may be at risk for developing cancer.
