Summer Springboard offers many academic courses, two of which include Global Health and Medicine. As an alumni of the Global Health course, I am going to highlight the main differences between the two academic courses and who they might appeal to.

Global Health Overview

In the Global Health course, you explore a wide variety of topics related to the field, including epidemiology, determinants of health, and health communication. Our instructor, Laura Rapoport, a Harvard graduate in the field of Public Health, was incredibly informed on the topic and engaged us in many activities. We discussed case studies, did outbreak investigations, talked about how we can help prevent epidemics today, and worked on many projects. We also went on an excursion to a Public Health Lab, which was fascinating. We were able to tour the facility, talk with a professional, and ask many questions, and see the lab workers investigate diseases. It was truly an unforgettable experience!

The Global Health course is geared more towards looking at diseases and epidemics around the world as a whole, along with how issues such as poverty, gender, climate, and more affect people’s health. If you have any interest in how epidemics such as the flu, measles, smallpox, ebola, and more spread and the steps that we can take to help prevent these outbreaks, then the Global Health course is definitely for you! Where the Medicine course focuses more on modern medicine, the Global Health course focuses more on health on a larger scale. It is truly a fascinating subject to explore!

Medicine Overview

As an alumni of the Global Health course, I don’t have direct experience with the Medicine course. However, my roommate from SSB participated in the track and was willing to share her experience! Here is alumni Michelle Jiang’s experience with the Medicine course.

Every day from 9 am to 12 pm, my classmates and I would walk to our classrooms (which were fairly close to our dorms). Our instructors Dr. Carol Chen and Dr. Andrea Tenner were incredibly knowledgeable about the topics we were supposed to be taught during the two-week period. I am eternally grateful for the time they decided to sacrifice for us students, but even so, they were incredibly patient and kind to us. There was never a boring day under their instruction! 

During the course, we experienced hands-on activities such as suturing or measuring one’s blood pressure; we even had the opportunity to simulate a mass casualty incident and triage patients who pretended to be injured. The activities we participated in were incredibly realistic and gave us a sense of what it was like to be in an actual emergency. Moreover, we were not only limited to learning about emergency medical care. Summer Springboard allows students in the medicine course to learn about multiple different fields of medicine, including emergency medicine, pathology, and surgery. 

As a student in the medicine course, we were able to experience two different excursions to hospitals in San Francisco. During the first excursion, we were able to perform CPR in a simulation and diagnose heart and lung diseases using stethoscopes. It was a privilege to experience hands-on activities that a regular high schooler would not be able to do. During the second excursion, Dr. Chen and Dr. Tenner gave us a tour of a hospital where we were able to see live patients getting treated (without interrupting their privacy!) This field trip allowed us to view the regular working environment of a doctor’s. 

Overall, my experience under Summer Springboard’s medicine course is one that I will never forget, and if possible, I would love to experience it again!

Why would a student choose Global Health over Medicine?

Both tracks provide an in-depth exploration of certain aspects of the medicine/healthcare field. The Global Health course is more for students interested in health on a large scale, and interested in the spread of disease and how we can prevent it. It is a great starting point for those who are interested in the health field, but don’t want to become a doctor specifically; this was true for my situation! It’s an incredibly interesting field and provides many opportunities to travel the world and help those in poverty and in need of healthcare.

I hope this blog helped guide you in your track decision! Feel free to reach out to me – laedawes@gmail.com – if you have any questions about the Global Health course and my experience!

Lillie Dawes is one of Summer Springboard’s new marketing interns. She currently attends Haas Hall Academy in Rogers, Arkansas. She attended Summer Springboard at UC Berkeley last summer and participated in the Global Health track. She hopes to use the skills and knowledge she received to someday make a difference in the world. Feel free to reach out @lillie.dawes

The post Course Comparison – Global Health vs Medicine appeared first on Summer Springboard.

Student Quote:

“I chose Summer Springboard because in the future I want to live in California, and to my knowledge, Berkeley is one of the best schools in the area.”

Highlights:

• Computer Science Excursion – Google SF
  • Students visited the Google SF office and toured of one of the most influential technology companies.
  • At the Google SF office, engineers and computer scientists work on the core infrastructure of flagship products like Search, Gmail, and Chrome, and on notable product launches including Wallet and App Engine.
• Medicine Excursion – Kanbar Center
  • The Kanbar Center supports UCSF’s educational mission of teaching, learning, and assessment through simulation recreating routine and complex situations.
  • Students performed compressions on dummies to the popular songs, “Stayin Alive” by Bee Gees and “Stronger” by Kelly Clarkson.
• Journalism Excursion – Bloomberg
  • Bloomberg has 2700 journalists in 100 countries writing over 5000 stories a day!
  • Students got a behind the scenes look into Bloomberg’s terminal to see headline stories as well as a live TV session.
• Business & Entrepreneurship Excursion – Club Donatello San Francisco:
  • Club Donatello is a four-star, gold crown boutique owners club providing an intimate ambiance in the heart of San Francisco’s union square.
  • Business students got a chance to tour the beautiful facilities and the opportunity to ask questions on how the owners set themselves apart from the competition!
• Giants Stadium Tour
  • The students heard from two speakers with the Giants corporation who gave some great advice – “Communication is key no matter what profession you get in to. Make sure to work well with teams as this will get you far!”
  • Fun fact – whenever the championship trophy is flown in, the trophy gets its very own first class seat!

The post UC Berkeley – July 24 – July 25 appeared first on Summer Springboard.

Student Quote:

“I selected Summer Springboard for this summer because it was a small distance from my home and is a great program, based on what I’ve heard. This was a win win for me!”

Highlights:

• Academic Tracks
  • We are honored to have acclaimed professional experts as the instructors for Summer Springboard.
  • From faculty at the Department of Emergency Medicine at University of California, San Francisco to the winner of the Henry Ford Teacher Innovator award and much more, these instructors will be providing students a deep dive of specific subject areas.
• UC Berkeley Campus Tour
  • One of the highlights was the Campanile. Visible for miles, the Campanile is the third-tallest bell and clock-tower in the world, and an integral part of the campus experience.
• The True You
  • A major part of what makes Summer Springboard different is The True You.
  • The purpose of the True You is to increase student’s self-awareness so they can make better decisions about college admissions, academic major and career paths.
• Afternoon & Evening Activities
  • In between all of the academic and career exploration portions of Summer Springboard, students are enjoying the fun activities. A favorite was the blind lego contest!

The post UC Berkeley – July 22 – July 23 appeared first on Summer Springboard.

Student Quote:

“I chose SSB because this program has been well known in my circle of friends and I am so glad to have a chance to visit Berkeley.”

Highlights:

• Over 85 students from all over the country (and world!) moved into the Unit 1 Residence Halls at UC Berkeley for two weeks of fun!
• Day 1 is all about getting to know one another. After the students have settled in, there are icebreakers, introductions, and fun activities to learn more about everyone.
• Our nurturing residential staff set the tone for the program, supporting students as they adjust to living in a dormitory and creating a fun and inclusive community. The residential staff have extensive experience working with teens and include a seasoned Campus Director and one Resident Advisor (RA) for every 10 students.

The post UC Berkeley – July 21 appeared first on Summer Springboard.

Student Quote:

“Journalism is fun, I enjoy the excursions…it’s really refreshing to be learning from experience instead of being lectured to and being able to talk to actual journalists, gives an idea how they operate.”

Highlights:

• Engineering Excursion – Stantec
  • Students arrived at the project site for the new UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences building.
  • An architect from Stantec, the leading global engineering firm at the project site, spoke to the students about the ins and outs of creating a building from scratch.
• Engineering Excursion – Autodesk Gallery
  • Named a top destination by Wired magazine and the San Francisco Chronicle, the Autodesk Gallery at One Market in San Francisco explores the future of making things.
  • From a car that’s grown from seeds to an interactive dress, the gallery has dozens of fascinating exhibits to explore.
  • Students dived into the entire museum featuring exceptional design and engineering exhibits, including original works by Lego, Mercedes-Benz, Nike, and more.
• Computer Science Excursion – Thunkable
  • Thunkable enables anyone to create beautiful and powerful mobile apps with a drag and drop mobile app builder for iOS and Android.
  • The students brought their devices and got a special opportunity to actually code alongside the engineering team!
• Journalism Excursion – ABC 7
  • ABC 7 is a local news station serving the Bay Area.
  • Students visited the ABC 7 news station, where they had the chance to get a behind the scenes look at reporting.
  • They had the chance to interview the reporters about their jobs and the journalism field as a whole.
• SF Fun Day
  • On Saturday, the students took a trip to SF, where they got a chance to see some of the famous spots below:
    • Golden Gate Bridge
    • Golden Gate Park
    • Haight Ashbury
    • Union Square
    • Pier 39
    • Ghirardelli Square

The post UC Berkeley – July 26 – July 27 appeared first on Summer Springboard.

Day 12 & 13 of Summer Springboard (Session 3):

Highlights:

• That’s a wrap on session 3 of Summer Springboard at UC Berkeley! We’ve had an amazing two weeks of learning, fun, and friendships that will last a lifetime.

The post UC Berkeley – August 1 – August 2 appeared first on Summer Springboard.

Student Quote:

“I have enjoyed learning about different colleges and even getting comfortable with Berkeley campus. I have also enjoyed getting to know a variety of people from all over the world. These weekend trips were a really good experience that I will remember for a long time.”

Highlights:

• Stanford University Campus Tour:
  • In 1885, Jane and Leland Stanford established Stanford University in memory of their son, Leland Junior. Their intent was to establish a “University of high degree” that would “qualify students for personal success and direct usefulness in life and promote the public welfare by exercising an influence on behalf of humanity and civilization.”
  • Today, Stanford is a research university where teaching, learning and research are integral to the university’s mission.
• Business & Entrepreneurship Excursion – Oakland BBB
  • Students visited the Better Business Bureau, the ideal place to foster young entrepreneurs with its focus on encouraging and supporting best practices by educating consumers and businesses.
  • The BBB helps people find and recommend businesses, brands and charities they can trust.

The post UC Berkeley – July 16 – July 17 appeared first on Summer Springboard.

Highlights:

• California’s Great America
  • Students had a blast at California’s Great America, a 100-acre amusement park!
  • The park has appeared in 1994 films Beverly Hills Cop III and Getting Even with Dad and features over 40 rides and attractions. One of its most notable attractions, Gold Striker, has been featured as a top-ranked wooden roller coaster. Also featured is Railblazer, one of the first Raptor Track roller coasters in the World, and Flight Deck, a B&M invert coaster.
• Apple Visitor Center:
  • Steps away from Apple Park is a special space created just for visitors. An architectural extension of the private campus, the Apple Park Visitor Center offers a place to explore, shop, and attend Apple sessions.
  • Created to illustrate our intention of building an office park that fits into the natural landscape, the Exhibition showcases the innovative design principles of Apple Park.
  • Designed to offer a highly curated selection of Apple products, accessories, and experiences, the Store offers exclusive Apple- and Apple Park–branded merchandise
  • The Roof Terrace features a unique view of Apple Park and its rolling landscape.
•  College Life Panel
  • Student’s got the opportunity to ask the RAs all about the college experience – from the good to the bad!
  • The group of RAs represent current or recent grads from UCLA, U Mass Boston, Temple University, Rutgers, Dickinson College, Knox College, UC Riverside, and Wayne State University.

The post UC Berkeley – July 28 & July 29 appeared first on Summer Springboard.

Highlights:

• Stanford University Campus Tour:
  • In 1885, Jane and Leland Stanford established Stanford University in memory of their son, Leland Junior. Their intent was to establish a “University of high degree” that would “qualify students for personal success and direct usefulness in life and promote the public welfare by exercising an influence on behalf of humanity and civilization.”
  • Today, Stanford is a research university where teaching, learning and research are integral to the university’s mission.

The post UC Berkeley – July 30 – July 31 appeared first on Summer Springboard.

Student Quote:

“Getting to know more people is definitely the most enjoyable part of this program, I got to know more people and had a lot of fun. I also got a lot of information about how to apply and prepare for university, which is much more than what I would have learned at school. Thank you for this experience.”

Highlights:

• California’s Great America
  • Students had a blast at California’s Great America, a 100-acre amusement park!
  • The park has appeared in 1994 films Beverly Hills Cop III and Getting Even with Dad and features over 40 rides and attractions. One of its most notable attractions, Gold Striker, has been featured as a top-ranked wooden roller coaster. Also featured is Railblazer, one of the first Raptor Track roller coasters in the World, and Flight Deck, a B&M invert coaster.
• Apple Visitor Center:
  • Steps away from Apple Park is a special space created just for visitors. An architectural extension of the private campus, the Apple Park Visitor Center offers a place to explore, shop, and attend Apple sessions.
  • Created to illustrate our intention of building an office park that fits into the natural landscape, the Exhibition showcases the innovative design principles of Apple Park.
  • Designed to offer a highly curated selection of Apple products, accessories, and experiences, the Store offers exclusive Apple- and Apple Park–branded merchandise
  • The Roof Terrace features a unique view of Apple Park and its rolling landscape.
• Medicine Excursion – Kanbar Center
  • The Kanbar Center supports UCSF’s educational mission of teaching, learning, and assessment through simulation recreating routine and complex situations.
  • Students performed compressions on dummies to the popular songs, “Stayin Alive” by Bee Gees and “Stronger” by Kelly Clarkson.
• Business & Entrepreneurship Guest Speaker – Former McKinsey Executive
  • Peter Mombaur provided a deep dive into management consulting at McKinsey. From the Gates Foundation to the government of South Africa, all types of companies hire McKinsey to help solve their business problems.
  • Peter shared McKinsey’s method to approach problem solving = MECE (mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive)

The post UC Berkeley – July 14 & July 15 appeared first on Summer Springboard.