Four students from Grand County Middle School traveled earlier this month to Utah State University Eastern’s Blanding campus to participate in the TRIO Educational Talent Search program’s “Rising 9th Grade Summer Workshop.”
Lorlinda Lameman, Johnathan Martineau, Joel Martineau and Tyler Foy all participated in the July 11-13 trip.
While on campus, the students learned about high school preparation, college planning, career exploration, money management and leadership skills. They had the opportunity to stay in the new USU dorms and tour several different departments on campus.
In the health professions department, students were given lab coats to wear and practiced running scenarios on a patient named “iStan” – a wireless patient simulator that mimics human cardiovascular, respiratory and neurological systems. At the nursing department, an instructor distributed stethoscopes while teaching students about various careers in the nursing industry. And at the heavy equipment/ truck driving facility, students tested their skills by operating hydraulic excavator and bulldozer simulators on virtual construction sites.
Jami Bayles, who directs the Educational Talent Search program at the Blanding campus, reported that in addition to learning how to plan for high school and their postsecondary careers, upcoming ninth-grade students from the Grand and San Juan County school districts participated in a science excursion by rafting down the San Juan River, where they learned about the area’s geology, natural history and Ancestral Puebloan culture.
The Educational Talent Search program identifies and provides services to eligible students in grades six through 12 who have the potential to succeed in higher education. It is designed to motivate and support students to graduate from high school and pursue postsecondary degrees.
For more information about ETS, or to enroll a student in ETS, contact Cindy Brewer at Grand County Middle School, or Tamara Larsen at Grand County High School.
