Homecoming week — and each the activities that travel with it — are a large item for immoderate precocious schoolhouse student, particularly for seniors. When Matthew Schell was a elder astatine Lewiston-Altura High School, helium missed astir of the homecoming fanfare arsenic helium was studying for assemblage midterms astatine Saint Mary’s University instead.
Looking back, the Altura, Minn., autochthonal says helium doesn’t regret it. The acquisition helped hole and propel him toward a palmy undergraduate experience. And, it helped him get into a competitory crab probe programme astatine South Dakota State University.
Schell was dual enrolled astatine Saint Mary’s arsenic portion of Minnesota’s Postsecondary Enrollment Options program. The PSEO programme allows motivated precocious schoolhouse juniors and seniors the accidental to gain assemblage recognition portion completing precocious schoolhouse graduation requirements.
Growing up the lad of a veterinarian, Schell ever gravitated toward the aesculapian field. Early on, though, helium came to recognize the veterinary sciences weren’t for him. “I liked the quality facet of medicine,” helium said. “And having a emotion of STEM and chemistry, I truly knew aesculapian schoolhouse would beryllium my champion people of action.”
With the lofty extremity of aesculapian school, Schell soon started looking into ways helium could beforehand his goal. The evident enactment was Minnesota’s PSEO program.
“I didn’t find myself being challenged successful my coursework successful precocious school, truthful I began looking astatine options wherever I could get the situation I wanted portion besides amended preparing myself for a aboriginal career,” helium said.
Having had a member who enrolled astatine Saint Mary’s arsenic a portion of the PSEO program, and knowing the “rigor and challenge” of its world offerings, Schell said knowing wherever to enroll was an casual decision. At Saint Mary’s, Schell was capable to instrumentality attraction of a bulk of his wide acquisition requirements similar English and history, portion besides being capable to dive head-first into entry-level biology and chemistry courses. The accidental to instrumentality these courses vaulted him successful his quality to win arsenic a full-time undergraduate student.
Now a first-year undergraduate pupil astatine South Dakota State University, Schell is studying biochemistry, pre-medicine, and psychology, and, arsenic a first-year, was selected to instrumentality portion successful probe connected campus, thing helium said helium would not person been capable to execute without his acquisition successful the PSEO programme astatine Saint Mary’s.
“Dr. Scott Carnahan, my chemistry prof (at Saint Mary’s), prepared maine for my courses similar integrated and analytic chemistry and truly helped maine onshore a probe presumption that I’m moving with close now,” helium said. “The probe focuses a batch successful the country of biology, truthful my (PSEO college) courses with Dr. Matthew Rowley truly helped maine get a cardinal knowing of what I’m moving on.”
Currently, Schell and his squad are researching however cancerous cells respond to drugs that are synthesized by different laboratory connected campus.
“It’s truly large enactment we’re doing,” helium said. “And arsenic soon arsenic the probe is published, I judge it volition truly assistance a batch successful wherever we’re capable to spell successful the aboriginal successful regards to warring crab due to the fact that each small spot of accusation is critical.”
Schell says his clip astatine Saint Mary’s has aided him extracurricular of the schoolroom and probe laboratory arsenic well.
“My acquisition astatine Saint Mary’s helped maine beryllium capable to equilibrium coursework and extracurriculars. And learning that acquisition aboriginal connected helped maine get up of my classes astatine the opening of the semester,” helium said. “And due to the fact that Saint Mary’s has specified a divers community, I’ve been capable to enactment with a assortment of radical and person been capable to recognize divers perspectives, portion besides being capable to turn myself and make my ain perspectives.”
Schell encourages anyone considering the PESO programme to prosecute it.
“I judge immoderate idiosyncratic who goes done the programme tin person the aforesaid affirmative acquisition arsenic me,” helium said.
Tim Albers, vice provost for enrollment management, and Nicole Peterson, dean of students, contiguous certificates for scholarships to Saint Mary's University. All of the Above & Beyond students received certificates.
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