On Thursday, January 26, the Greater Cincinnati Tech Prep Consortium hosted a College Transition and Biotech Lab Day at RWC for high school students in biotech programs. Students and teachers from Loveland High School, Winton Woods High School, Woodward Technical High School and Talawanda High School came to Tech Prep offices at the RWC Senior Citizens Annex at the corner of Cooper and Plainfield roads.There were several speakers from UC there, including Angelica Kennedy from RWC Enrollment Services; the Associate Dean of the College of Allied Health, Gil Hageman; Suzanne Bradshaw, Professor in Biological Sciences; and Rajiv Soman, from the College of Applied Science.
Kennedy talked with the students about RWC itself, the college entrance process and financial aid. Gil Hageman discussed with the students the different health majors in the College of Allied Health Sciences. Suzanne Bradshaw presented information about the Laboratory Tech Programs offered at RWC. Rajiv Soman informed the students about the Chemical Technology program at the College of Applied Science.
After lunch, the students were brought back to SAHB for hands-on lab work. Three lab stations were set up, and the students rotated through in small groups.
Charity Accurso, from the College of Allied Health Sciences, walked the students through looking at blood slides of various human diseases, such as sickle cell anemia and leukemia, through microscopes.
Mark Fritz, also from the College of Allied Health Sciences, had the students detect fingerprints on documents. Suzanne Bradshaw, with the help of RWC Lab Technician Melanie Kegley, set up a lab that allowed students to view mammalian cells in cultures under the microscope.
“The students seemed to enjoy the hands-on labs and were very engaged and inquisitive about what they were doing,” Professor Bradshaw said. She thinks the students learned about opportunities for continuing their biotech education at any one of the UC colleges, but she said she hopes they choose RWC.