Focus on TUSD - Summer 2008

Moving Up
Catalina students meet the acting surgeon general
For high school students who plan public health careers, there's no bigger honor than meeting the U.S. Surgeon General.

That's what four students in the Catalina Magnet High School Allied Health Services program did on June 12 when acting Surgeon General Steven K. Galson came to Tucson for the U.S. Public Health Services Scientific and Training Symposium. As the nation's chief medical education officer, Galson leads a force of commissioned officers. He has served as the acting surgeon general since October 2007.

"It's like meeting the president," said Adria Laborin. "He'll be my future boss. She plans to enter the PHS as an epidemiologist.

Classmate Stephanie Padilla called the encounter with the surgeon general "nerve wracking." She said, "It was beautiful to get our picture taken with him. Everything he said was inspirational." She will be part of Catalina's certified nurse assistant program and plans to be a PHS nurse practitioner.

Denise Kidd was interested in hearing his keynote address. "It was a great opportunity to meet him and to hear his thoughts," she said. After her training at Catalina, she plans to enter nurses training at Arizona State University.

Andreotti Federico, who is enrolled in the Catalina pharmacy program, plans to enter the PHS. "Meeting the surgeon general was great," he said. "He's influential and he has a lot of power over the public health system."

Catalina students are involved in the Civilian Volunteer Medical Resource Corps. In September, they'll do a training exercise through the corps.

Joan Dawson, the Catalina Healthcare and Community Services Programs instructor who accompanied the students to the Tucson Convention Center for the speech and picture-taking, said they were "exceptional young people. They are the future of the public health system. The more information we get out to them, the more they see themselves doing it and the further they'll go."

She said the four students who met the surgeon general are all Honor Roll students.

-- By Sharon Dunham
Communications & Media Relations

Photos in the summer issue by Jes Ruvalcaba of Communications & Media Relations, unless otherwise noted.

The deadline to submit material for the September Focus is Friday, August 15. The Focus will be published Monday, August 25. Email submissions to Chyrl Hill Lander or Sharon Dunham in the Communications & Media Relations Department or use the online Tip Sheet.