High School Pipelines

The Center for Rural Health has carried out its award-winning high school pipeline since 2004. We work with rural, minority and underserved students to raise awareness of health care careers, remove barriers to pursuing these careers and help prepare students for the rigors of medical education.

Memorable experiences that help students define their career paths include:

  • Trips to the Marshall University gross anatomy lab
  • Real-time surgeries via videoconference
  • Hands-on suturing workshops
  • Discussions with a variety of health care specialists and other activities

In many cases, and whenever possible, the Center for Rural Health partners with other organizations in order to reach more students and to maximize the total resources of the partners. The Center for Rural Health regularly works with:

  • Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) organizations throughout the state to reach students from rural areas interested in health care professions.
  • Upward Bound programs at both Marshall University and Concord University serve high school students from low-income families and families in which neither parent holds a bachelor's degree. 
  • West Virginia Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA), based at West Virginia University, is a one-of-a-kind mentoring program that helps participating high school students enter and succeed in STEM-based undergraduate and graduate degree programs. 
  • GEAR-UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs), a federally-funded, six-year program for high-poverty and at-risk students to encourage them to pursue higher education.
  • Project Lead the Way, a national organization for high school students interested in science related careers.

Our staff regularly presents about the pipeline program at state, regional and national levels.

Pipeline Reports