Ask Israel Peña what career he'd like to pursue when he gets out of college
and without pause the fresh-faced Rio Grande Valley teenager will shoot
back: “A heart surgeon.”
Like a handful of his classmates who hail from economically depressed pockets of
deep South Texas, Peña, 19, has his sights set on one day launching his own
medical practice. Specifically, Peña would like to provide care to children
with congenital heart ailments who live in the medically underserved area.
“It's always been something I've been interested in,” Peña says.
Israel Peña Jr., a junior at UT Brownsville, and Dr. Susan Powers examine x-rays at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston.
Unfortunately, many of his contemporaries are unlikely to get a shot at
medical school – mostly because they don't have the financial resources
or the academic preparation to get them there.
But for Peña, a third-year student at the University of Texas at Brownsville
who already has demonstrated academic strength worthy of becoming a medical
student, a recent statewide program has enabled him to pursue a dream he might not have had the opportunity to realize.
Known as the Joint Admission Medical Program, or JAMP, the state-sponsored effort
enrolled its first students in 2003 as a means of extending medical school opportunities to economically
disadvantaged students in all areas of the state.
For the most part, students have to meet three primary eligibility
requirements: be a Texas resident; demonstrate financial need that makes them
eligible for a federal Pell Grant; and maintain at least a 3.25 grade point
average.
The program selects highly qualified, dedicated students from 65 public and
private four-year colleges who have a strong interest in the medical profession,
and provides financial backing, intensive tutorials, mentoring and
summer medical school internships to give them a solid foundation in preparation for professional school.
If participants maintain good grades and fulfill other program requirements,
they are guaranteed a spot at one of Texas' eight medical institutions.
And while it's too early to conclusively gauge JAMP's success, it already
has shown promising results.
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