KINGSVILLE (Feb. 26, 2026) — The Texas A&M University Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine in partnership with the Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy and Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) welcomed more than 400 high school students from 20 regional school districts to the Regional Rural Med Camp on Wednesday and Thursday at the Memorial Student Union Building.
The two-day camp is part of the TAMU–College of Medicine Rural Medicine K-12 Outreach Program and is designed specifically for South Texas students ages 14- to 18-years old interested in career paths in healthcare.
“There was a lot of excitement and this year knowing that spots filled up within three days, I think, affirms that the students and the teachers see a lot of value in the camp,” said Chris Diem, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs for the Texas A&M College of Medicine and camp keynote speaker. “This year we saw some of the same faces from last year and we saw a lot of new faces in the 400 students and 20 school districts coming to understand that we’re committed down here.”
This was the second year TAMUK hosted the camp, which was previously being hosted in College Station. But after a realization that other Texas A&M system campuses are closer to rural areas, it was decided that TAMUK would become the host of the Inaugural Regional Rural Med Camp in 2025.
“We want to see them join our medical school one day and we want to show them how to get from where they are right now in high school to that point in a few years,” Diem added. “A&M-Kingsville has been an incredible partner with us to be able to do that and to partner with the College of Pharmacy knowing that we’ve got people down here committed to what we’re also doing is exciting to me.”
Camp participants joined breakout sessions that featured courses entitled Understanding Prescriptions: The Pharmacist’s Role and Hands-On Surgery Skills.
Understanding Prescriptions: The Pharmacist’s Role gave the campers a look at what a pharmacist does day-to-day and about understanding prescriptions. Students were given medicine containers with candy to mimic the medicines and allowed them to fill a pill case they could take home.
In Hands-On Surgery Skills, students learned how to apply a suture, or stitches using an educational medical kit that included everything a real professional would need such as a lifelike skin pad, needle and training scissors.
In addition to Diem’s keynote address there was also a Career Panel Discussion and representatives from the TAMU College of Medicine and College of Pharmacy, giving students opportunities to learn and discuss the road to medical school and possible career paths.
“This med camp is something different for me as a student,” Melanie Ceja, a junior from Alice High School, who is currently doing clinicals to become a Certified Nurse Aide. It’s nice to be able to come to Kingsville and get an experience like what school would be like in a few years when I graduate. I find the experiences today very useful for me because I’ve already started hands-on experience, so getting to experience it with different professors from the universities is something I can really take and bring into my real-life experiences.
For others in attendance, the camp was a preview of what is to come on a local level with a future TAMUK nursing program.
“This is beneficial for students because they’re giving a little insight here and letting students know what this college has to offer,” said Shantai McCoy, a health science teacher at H.M. King and a former nurse with 15 years of experience. “There are so many different careers that students can pursue in the medical field that are very exciting. One of those is bringing a nursing program to TAMUK. Students won’t have to travel anymore. I feel like for students that want to stay home and don’t want to travel for college, it’s a great opportunity.”
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