|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Welcome to GATEWAY!
|
Our goal is to provide you with resources as you navigate through college, health professional school, and
ultimately, into one of the many health professions.
Each month, you'll receive career and
college/professional school planning tips, advice and tools that will be useful to you as you pursue a health career. |
Motivational Minute
|
Oh!
The Places You'll Go!
"Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.
You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Kid, you'll move mountains!
You're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So... get on your way!"
-Dr. Seuss
|
|
 |
About NC-HCAP
|
Established in 1971 by Dr. Cecil G. Sheps, NC-HCAP works to increase the number of underrepresented minorities or
economically and/or educationally disadvantaged students who are
educated, trained and employed in the health professions.
For
more than 35 years, NC-HCAP has provided thousands of students with programs and activities to raise their awareness of
opportunities available within the health professions and to increase
their competitiveness as health professional school applicants.
|
|
|
|
Strategies for Success |
Volunteer your way to success
 Whether you're applying to medical school,
graduate school or a job, the key to success is
distinguishing yourself from your peers. Employers and admissions offices look
at grade-point averages and standardized test scores, but there is another
important aspect that they look for in a potential candidate: volunteer experience.
According to medical schools, volunteer work is essential and expected from all admissions candidates. Students with volunteer background tend to be more highly focused, experienced, diverse and trained. Some graduate programs even extend special considerations,
such as scholarships, to service corps participants.
Employers believe that many key skills are developed through volunteering, such
as leadership, communication, creativity and commitment. Volunteering can
also provide the satisfaction of incorporating service into your own life and making
a difference in your local neighborhood and country. It allows you to strengthen
communities, improve lives and connect to others. A recent report presented by
the Corporation for National & Community Service also established a strong
relationship between volunteering and the reduction of stress.
Volunteering is a great way to gain valuable knowledge and
experience that will help set you apart from your colleagues. Here are some
final tips on how to volunteer your way to success:
- Start volunteering early. Medical schools tend to frown upon students who
start volunteering only a few months before their applications are due.
- Volunteer for causes that are related
to a career that interests you. Volunteering can help you learn
more about the career and give you valuable work experience. It can also
help you network with professionals in your field of interest.
-
Provide extensive details on your
volunteer work. When applying to medical school or graduate school, demonstrate
what your volunteering experience has taught you and how it has impacted your
life.
Want to start volunteering in your community?
UNC Hospitals' Volunteer Services
is a great way to get involved. For more
information, contact UNC Hospitals Volunteer Services Department at (919)
966-4793 or visit their Web site at http://www.unchealthcare.org/site/volunteers.
|
| Spotlight on Success
|
 Dentistry gives Sharon Harrell something to smile about
As a young girl growing up in Rockingham, N.C.,
Sharon Harrell was the eldest daughter of two hardworking laborers in
a local factory. From a very young age, Harrell's parents instilled in her the
importance of moral values, hard work, accepting responsibility and the need
for a good education to achieve success.
Harrell's experience wearing braces as a high school
sophomore sparked her interest in dentistry and directed her academic focus
more toward science and math courses. Rather than push her away from a career
in dentistry, Harrell says her father embraced the idea and supported her
fully.
During undergraduate school, the desire to care for
underserved populations surfaced and Harrell decided she wanted to provide a
broader range of oral care for her patients. Harrell graduated with a Bachelor
of Arts degree in chemistry from the University
of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill in 1983 and followed that with a Doctor of Dental Surgery
degree from the UNC School of Dentistry in 1987. After a brief stint at the
University of Maryland Dental School, where she received a Certificate in Advanced
General Dentistry, Harrell returned to UNC to pursue a master's degree in
public health, which she received in 1990.
After completing her educational goals, Harrell relocated to York, Pennsylvania
and took a position with the York Health Corporation, a community health center
for low income adults and children funded by the federal government. However
difficult the challenges, Harrell welcomed them as "opportunities to contribute
greatly to a local community by providing quality care to the patients most
often in need."
Harrell now feels that one of the greatest opportunities to
make a positive impact in the field of industry comes through her role as an
adjunct professor at the UNC School of Dentistry. "I help [students] learn to
be cognizant of patients' needs and make them aware of the special challenges
that many underserved patients face."
In addition to her work with the dental school, Harrell is
also the director of FirstHealth Dental Care Centers, where she continues her
dental practice as well as serves as the administrator of the three regional
centers located in Moore
County and the
surrounding areas. "We work with children who, due to finances, have not
previously had access to dental care," she explains. Harrell enjoys making a
difference in the lives of children who are given immediate results and relief
after being without dental care for so long.
|
Career Resources
| Want to learn more about volunteering?
|
Meet Ms. Borden
|
 Paula Borden joined the NC-HCAP team in February of 2007 and currently serves as the interim director of NC-HCAP. In this role, she provides leadership in financial management, administrative and programmatic planning and fundraising.
Additionally, as the associate director/college outreach coordinator, she is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the office as well as planning, developing and implementing college outreach initiatives. She serves as the advisor for the NC-HCAP Health Careers Club.
Before joining the NC-HCAP team, Paula was employed with the Morehead-Cain Foundation, an undergraduate scholarship program at UNC. She also served as an AmeriCorp VISTA volunteer for the Corporation for National and Community Service.
Ms. Borden received her Bachelor of Science degree in communications studies from Wingate University
and earned a Masters of Art in counselor education from North Carolina Central University.
She is a member of the American Counseling Association, the North Carolina
Counseling Association and the National Association of Medical Minority
Educators, Inc. |
Let Us Hear From You
|
Do you have an academic or career planning question you'd like to ask? Is there a specific topic you are interested in seeing in Gateway? We're always here to assist you.
Simply contact us at:
(919) 966-2264
nchcap@unc.edu
http://nchcap.unc.edu
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
