Academic Advising

Pre-Health

BS in Health Preparation/Professional Sciences |

Pre-Health Sciences Programs | Applying to a Professional Program |
Cosby High School Collaboration | Pre-Health Advising Staff

Cosby High School Collaboration

Program Description

Mentor/Service Learning Course

Apply to become a Mentor

Description of Service Learning Courses

Cosby High School Home Page

Richmond Times Dispatch Article

Photos and Article from Student's Vist to VCU Medical Center

Project Partners

Photos of Cosby High School Activities at VCU School of Nursing

Photos of Cosby High School Activities at VCU School of Pharmacy

Photos of Cosby High School Activities at VCU School of Dentistry

Program Description

Cosby High School is located in Chesterfield County. The high school has recently opened a specialty center designed for high school students interested in pursuing health careers. (See the Richmond Times Dispatch article for more details.)

During the spring 2012 semester, for the fifth time, Dr. Seth Leibowitz, director of Pre-Health Sciences Advising and Donna Jackson, director of Outreach for VCU School of Medicine, will co-teach a course in Cosby High School to help students make informed choices about the health professions they wish to pursue, and to help them plan a pathway to pursue their careers. The high school class will involve in-class exercises, lectures and lab experiences, in which the high school students will visit the Monroe Park and MCV campuses.

Mentor / Service Learning Course

Approximately 20 undergraduate VCU students will be chosen to participate in a service learning / mentoring class. The class will be a 3 credit, 300-level service learning course. The mentoring course will be taught in the spring 2012 semester and there will be one section meeting on Tuesdays from 9:30am-12:30pm and one section meeting from 11:30-2pm on Tuesdays. Participation in the class requires driving or carpooling to Cosby High School in Chesterfield County about 7 times throughout the course of the spring semester. Trips to Cosby are about a half hour from the Monroe Park Campus by car and will involve minimal costs to cover gas and toll expenses. During the dates when mentors are not traveling to Cosby, they will be meeting on the Monroe Park Campus (Location TBA) from 11:30-12:30pm.

For Spring 2012, Mentors will be performing service and expected to be in attendance at Cosby High School in Chesterfield on January 24th, February 14th, February 28h, March 6th, March 20, April 24h, May 8th and one optional visit during the period of May 2nd to May 12th.

Each VCU student-mentor will be paired with 2 or 3 high school students in a mentoring relationship. For the VCU students participation in the class will involve learning skills to become mentors to the high school students who are exploring career options in the health professions. Mentors will be required to work closely with their mentees to develop a final presentation, grade their mentees written work and lead discussions/presentations on college success skills. Additional service opportunities are available to provide overall support for the program.

All service activities and class meetings will take place during the classes' designated meeting times on Tuesdays. If you are selected to become a mentor, a class entitled UNIV 391 will be placed on your spring 2012 schedule and you will be assigned to either the am or pm class sections, depending on the needs of the program and your preference. Mentors will be required to schedule their other spring classes around the times of the mentor class.

Applications can be found on-line at the link below and submitted via e-mail. Application deadline is November 16th at 5 pm. Students will be notified about the status of their mentor application by November 22nd.

Apply to Become a Mentor

Mentor Application

If you have any questions please e-mail Dr. Leibowitz at slleibowitz@vcu.edu.

Project Partners

University College

Center for Health Disparities

Cosby High School and Chesterfield Board of Education

Virginia Mentoring Partnership

VCU Division of Community Engagement

VCU School of Medicine

VCU School of Dentistry

VCU School of Pharmacy