HUNGRY FOR By Miclrnlie Bl'Own I Knstrnu Kise,. In the midst of Homecoming festivities, the health science club welcomed students to a taco soup luncheon where they visited •,vith Harding alumni who were in graduate school or the medical field. The event had taken place on the Friday of Homecoming week at noon for the past 11 years. Assistant Dean ofPre-Professional Health Sciences Deborah Duke believed the event successfully brought all of the students in the department together to expand their knowledge of the health science field. "It's really to serve the students so they can hear from people who used to be in their shoes at Harding and have gone out and been in health sciences," Duke said. Young professionals in the health science industry including medical school student<;, physician assistants, occupational therapists, pharmacists and more sat on a panel and answered questions from Harding students about their futures in the medical field. Senior cellular and molecular biology major Alex Traughber said talking with students in graduate school at the lunch encouraged him in his studies. "I think the biggest benefit was the encouragement and the excitement that eve1yone on the panel had," Traughber said. "... A lot of times it feels like high school because I'm taking classes here so that I can go to study what I actually want to study in grad school, and so it's good to actually see people who are there already." This year, about 50 students from the preprofessional health science department attended the event and participated in asking the panel questions. Assistant pre-professional health science professor Judy Hall believed the event gave students valuable information about the graduate school process. "They'll want to know what it's like in grad school and then what it's going to be like when they get out," Hall said. "They get to ask questions, which is a neat experience for them. They don't always have that ability to talk to someone who's in that field." Both Hall and Duke agreed their favorite IIE.\LTII SCIE:\'CE 2nn HEALTH question that was asked at the event was "What is the most misunderstood thing about your career?" The panelists' answers ranged from their job being overly simplified, to an occupational therapist whose friend thought she helped people find jobs. Duke said serving taco soup at the panel was not a random choice, but an annual event. "It's a tradition every year to feed the students taco soup," Duke said. "We have this recipe that feeds 60 or so that we make here at the school. We make that, and we have all the trimmings with that, and we usually make Rice Krispies Treats with candy corn in it." Traughber said he enjoyed the event because it had been raining all day, so taco soup with classmates, professors and medical professionals was relaxing. "It's beneficial to a lot of students which is why we appreciate it, and it's a free meal which is always great," Traughber said. "Especially in the craziness ofhomecoming, it's good to sit back, relax and look towards the future a little bit."
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NA==