5th graders in Texas Tech med school classrooms?

Friday afternoon ABC-7 cameras caught fifth-graders wandering the halls at Texas Tech University.

The students got their hands on hearts and brains but it wasn’t any horseplay, it’s part of a program called ”Seeds of Change.’

The program is a partnership between Clardy Elementary School and the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine.
It gives the students a chance to get a feel for what it’s like to be in medical school.

“I think it’s a great experience, it’s an opportunity for them, it exposes them to science and the medical field,” said Clardy Elementary School Principle Leticia Foster.
It’s not often you see a fifth-graders in a lab coats alongside medical students at a university.

Friday afternoon some lucky students got to learn about the brain and heart from future doctors and nurses.

“It encourages them to go to college and pursue a higher education,” said Foster.

She says the experience is meant to open the eyes of children who might not otherwise be exposed to the medical field.

“I’ve always wanted to be a pediatrician,” said fifth-grader Ana Garcia.

For Garcia it’s step in the right direction.

“It’s fun and entertaining to learn about the body and the brain,”said Garcia.

The program isn’t only for the fifth-graders to learn more either.

“We wanted the university students to be exposed to the community, to get them engaged to build better ties with them,” said Garcia.

For the kids it’s simply about inspiration.

“I feel like I’m actually studying here and being a doctor and studying with them,” said student Ellen Hernandez.

The doctors-in-the-making also learned about physiology and cardiology.
The program is only for fifth-graders but it’s worked so well the school hopes to expand to other grades.