Author: Inez Lam

If a Marvel superhero suffered a debilitating injury during the Infinity War and suddenly couldn't walk, what device would you design to help him or her get back into the fray? Fifty P-TECH Healthcare students accepted this "Wakanda Design Challenge" as part of a creative problem solving workshop based in the world of the blockbuster movies Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther. The event on Sept. 13 was part of the annual conference hosted by Congressional Black Caucus Foundation in Washington, D.C. The students participating were well prepared: As students in the Pathways in Technology Early College High School, or P-TECH, housed at Baltimore's Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, they are already immersed in a variety of health care fields, including information technology, nursing, physical therapy, and respiratory services. Now in its third year, the…

Swimming laps in the pool at East Baltimore's Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, Alvin Winn often wonders how, exactly, his lungs function. "I'm on the swim team," the 10th-grader explains. "It makes me think a lot about breathing and what happens when people have difficulty with it." One of almost 100 Dunbar students enrolled in the school's fledgling Pathways in Technology Early College High School program, Alvin, like his classmates, is already working toward an associate's degree in the health care field from Baltimore City Community College. At just 15, he's on a path toward a college degree and a job in respiratory services at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Read the full article at the HUB.