The College of Pharmacy, Duluth Campus hosted a group of 46 7th and 8th-grade students from Ordean East and Lincoln Park Middle Schools in Duluth's isd709 school district on March 12, 2025. The students participated in an interactive, pharmacy-focused STEM Day designed to inspire BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) middle schoolers to explore careers in pharmacy and other healthcare professions.
The half-day program, which ran from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, aimed to expose students to pharmacy and other health professions, familiarize them with college educational spaces, and connect them with BIPOC college and graduate students who could serve as role models and mentors.
"We wanted to inspire them to consider healthcare-related professions and also to connect them to BIPOC college and graduate students," said Dr. Olihe Okoro from the College of Pharmacy, who helped organize the event. "It's about planting seeds for their educational journey and helping them see college as a viable path."
The students participated in two key STEM-related activities during their visit. The first was a pH experiment led by Dr. Eve Metto from the Chemistry department, here at the University of Minnesota, Duluth (UMD) Campus. Working in small groups, students tested various household items such as baking soda, tonic water, distilled water, toothpaste, and lemon juice in red cabbage juice to determine whether they were acidic, neutral, or alkaline based on the resulting color changes."That particular pH activity was quite a hit," noted Dr. Okoro.
"We were able to connect this activity to what pharmacists do in terms of patient counseling – educating patients on what they should not take alongside certain medications, drug-drug interactions, and the mechanisms of dosage forms that take into consideration the pH of the saliva, stomach and intestine."
The second activity focused directly on pharmacy practice, with students participating in a medication adherence exercise. Using a prescription written for an elderly patient, the students organized colored candies (representing pills) into pill boxes, learning about the importance of medication adherence and the role of pharmacists in helping patients achieve their therapeutic goal.”
Campus Experience and Recreation
The field trip wasn't solely focused on academic activities. Through collaboration with the UMD Office of Diversity and Inclusion, students had the opportunity to tour the multicultural center, providing insights into campus resources that support students from diverse backgrounds.
The UMD Recreational Sports Outdoor Program also played a key role in the day's activities, hosting the students in the gymnasium where they participated in an adapted form of volleyball and toured some of the facilities. This recreational component offered students a chance to experience the balance between academics and physical activity that characterizes college life.
College Student Mentorship
Supporting the event were six international graduate students from various STEM disciplines who helped facilitate the activities. During lunch, two BIPOC junior-level UMD students shared their college experiences and answered questions from the middle schoolers. This Q-&-A session provided valuable perspectives from current college students who could relate to the middle schoolers' backgrounds. The dialogue focused on academics, work-school integration, extracurricular activities and leadership opportunities. The session concluded with some of the middle schoolers expressing interest in attending UMD for college.
Future Opportunities
The pharmacy-focused STEM field trip represents an important community-engaged partnership with the isd709 School District. By providing engaging, hands-on experiences in university settings, the objective is to demystify college and inspire young students to pursue higher education in STEM fields . . . and perhaps pharmacy school! In the written debrief, one of the students wrote: “I learned that Pharmacy is not just Pharmacy, it has different branches.”
"Overall, I would say it was very successful," Dr. Okoro concluded. "The students had a great time, and we hope to do it again." As efforts to increase diversity in healthcare and STEM fields continue to expand, initiatives like this field trip play a crucial role in creating pathways for students from diverse backgrounds to visualize themselves in these careers.