"I'm doing something that could impact someone's life and perhaps help them realize their dreams," says Schaye. "The students have lots of great questions and it's really energizing."

Schaye's classmates, Tatiana Catanzarite and Emilie Dahod, are equally impressed by the enthusiasm of the Sacramento High students. They're teaching the day's rotation in gross anatomy, giving students hands-on experience with a heart, which, in this case, is from a pig.


"As medical students, we dissect the whole human body," Dahod tells a group of five students assembled around her table. "It took us five months to go through it and it's the only time you can really go through everything."

She encourages her group to closely examine the heart in her hand, explaining how certain muscles help the heart contract and how valves, pressure and blood flow work.

"That's tight," says one of the students, as Dahod deftly handles the deep red heart. "The ones we've seen are all dried out."

The small group setting also affords good opportunities for friendly, relaxed questions that go beyond just science and medicine. The teenagers ask Dahod about her class schedules, the amount of studying she has to do and where she went to college. It's the type of conversation any ambitious young person might hope to have with another student who's had more school experiences and could possibly provide some helpful insights.

Students teaching students is really what Saturday Academy is all about. Teenagers get a very special peek at both science and a preview of life in medical school. Similarly, UC Davis medical students get the chance to share their knowledge of medicine and a passion for helping others. It's something that clearly makes it very easy for everyone to get up early on a weekend morning.

To visit UC Davis Website

This article is reposted with thank to UC Davis Health System.

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