By Hayley Ringle, Tribune

South Valley Junior High eighth-graders Chris Bennett, 13, from left, Mike O’Connor, 13, and Alex Hambicki, 14, use microscopes to view cells of an onion during their honors science class. March 12, 2009. Tribune

Gilbert’s Campo Verde High School will begin offering the district’s first biomedical science courses when the school opens its doors in August.  The four-year college-prep program is designed to nurture interests and expose Gilbert Unified School District students to a variety of medical careers through a hands-on approach in partnership with nearby Mercy Gilbert Medical Center.

It’s a program district officials have been working on for several years, well before the buildings started rising at the high school campus off Germann Road and Val Vista Drive, said Mark Hamilton, the district’s director of vocational, career and technical education.  “This will be another of about 20 vocational education programs we support,” Hamilton said. “If students focus in something they enjoy, they stick with it.”

A partnership with Mercy Gilbert has also been years in the making. Students will have opportunities for job shadowing, volunteering and scholarships to enhance their learning that much more, CEO Laurie Eberst said.  “We’re looking at ways to get kids interested in health care at an earlier age,” Eberst said. “With the opportunity they’ll have working directly with us and seeing real life examples of the different health care professional career opportunities … it helps them determine early on the appropriate pathways they want to follow.”

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