Recruitment of minority students into the health professions is a program goal. A majority of Northbrook Middle students are Hispanic and more than 80 percent are eligible for the free-lunch program. Wellness instructor Rod Othold said that health information could be taught many ways. What is different here, I think, is that students see professors and doctors who have backgrounds like them. Career interest and motivation are not lost on Northbrook students.
Doctors learn difficult subjects, but never stop learning about new things.
I'd like to keep learning. Before this, I was thinking about being a dentist. In recent years, Distance Learning Wellness students have also visited UT-Houston during special class trips. Many of our students have been nowhere but their own little neighborhood. UT-Houston has built a network of interactive video ties with school districts around the state.