Eight DeKalb County School District (DCSD) students received their first white lab coats on December 7, 2017, as part of the Reach One Each One High School Youth Medical Mentoring Program at Grady Memorial Hospital. The program is a partnership between DCSD, Morehouse School of Medicine and Emory School of Medicine.

DCSD participants include:

  • Taylor Barkley, Cedar Grove High School
  • Samantha Jones, Cedar Grove High School
  • Kameron Brooks, Tucker High School
  • Audrey Nsangou Choutpouen, Cedar Grove High School
  • Saron Ghebrezadik, Tucker High School
  • Kaleb Morris, Cedar Grove High School
  • Chloe Ranger, Cedar Grove High School
  • Jakara Zellner, Cedar Grove High School

In total, 30 Atlanta-area students graduated from the program this fall.

The program is led by Dr. Omar K. Danner, trauma surgeon and surgical critical care specialist at Grady Memorial Hospital and associate professor of surgery at the Morehouse School of Medicine.

According to the organization’s website, Reach One Each One includes “an overview of the path to medical school; comprehensive exposure to the field of healthcare; explanation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA); a healthcare professional career day; a financial literacy seminar compliments of Fifth Third Bank; a tour of MSM and Emory Medical School; skills lab with hands-on simulation, knot tying, and casting; and multidisciplinary clinical rotations in emergency medicine, internal medicine, neuroscience and critical care, obstetrics and gynecology, and surgery/anesthesia.”

As part of completing this STEM-based program, students received a white lab coat, a certificate and a book. Mentoring also continues following the program.