Future doctors,  surgeons, neuroscientists, veterinarians, and forensic anthropologists—pretty much anyone interested in a health sciences profession—at IDEA Public Schools GEAR UP have a lot to look forward to during their summers since the grant launched its highly-successful Health Science Academy last year. Open to 8th- and 9th-grade students, the Health Science Academy seeks to engage kids on a meaningful level while exposing them to the wide array of career choices within the health sciences field.

From job-shadowing doctors to participating in bio-simulation labs and even real-life emergency room situations, see how IDEA Public School TXGU'ers are getting front-row seats to their future with some truly one-of-a-kind experiences they'll never forget in our latest "Texas GEAR UP in Action" video. As you watch, you'll see that the biggest takeaway from this innovative and engaging program isn't that students who go on to complete the course are also Red Cross-trained and certified in CPR (although that is pretty awesome)—it's that students come away knowing if this career path is indeed the right one for them. (Spoiler: Sometimes it's totally not.) And when teens are armed with that kind of focus and clarity, their path to college becomes a lot more clear.