Teenagers, research projects, classroom lectures and Saturday mornings are usually not seen in the same sentence, let alone in real life. But for a group of mainly freshmen and sophomores from Sacramento High's School of Math, Engineering and Health Sciences, having the opportunity to take a series of classes taught by UC Davis School of Medicine students is the chance of a lifetime.

The program, called Saturday Academy, was founded in 2001 by three first-year medical students who realized they were in a unique position to serve as community leaders and mentors for local high schools, especially those schools with populations not well represented in the medical professions. Each year, over a period of four Saturdays, the medical students take time out of their own challenging schedules to spend time introducing groups of teens to what amounts to a condensed version of medical school.


On a rainy Saturday in early February, the morning starts off with a question from the dean of the UC Davis School of Medicine, Claire Pomeroy.

"How many of you would like to be surgeons?" she asks.

Immediately, four....five....six hands go up among the group of 32 students assembled in the spacious lecture hall.

"If you're going to dedicate your life to something, what could be better than helping people with their health?" she adds.

Pomeroy emphasizes that the youngsters can make a difference and notes that this year's program is especially exciting because it's the first time the Saturday Academy has been taught in the new $46 million UC Davis Education Building in Sacramento. With sessions ranging from gross anatomy and radiology to physical exams, cardiology and scientific research, this "mini medical school" further adds to realism by having the students take their courses in exactly the same high-tech classrooms and lecture hall as any other UC Davis medical student.

First-year medical student Conor Schaye shares coordinating duties for the academy with classmates Zhanetta Malko and Dawn Sung. Taking time out from his own studies, he has organized other fellow students to help out with "rotations," which are small group classes during the afternoon. After giving the introductory lecture on cardiology, he spends much of his time shuttling between rotations, making sure everything runs smoothly and on time.

Schaye later says the weekend academy is a good way to help ease the usual pressures of medical school. It also helps renew the idealism that originally led him to pursue a career in medicine, something he now gets to share with a very engaged group of teenagers.