Rural Reimagined

Pre-Professional Health Sciences: Mrs. Ann Marie Carrick and Mr. Thomas Turner 

In Spring 2020, Mrs. Ann Marie Carrick and Mr. Thomas Turner developed a UNPP course, titled “Rural Healthcare Exploration,” to allow students in the Pre-Professional Health Sciences programs to work with local doctors and volunteer in healthcare settings to explore the importance, challenges, and changes in healthcare within rural areas. UNPP 2020 students shadowed professionals, volunteered in rural areas, and asked questions revolving around rural medicine, such as questions regarding doctors’ opinions on what efforts could alleviate the problem of limited access to a variety of practitioners in their areas. The courses were an opportunity for students to learn, reflect, and discuss their findings in a panel, while it simultaneously sparked inspiration in the students to work in rural areas after earning their medical degrees. Mr. Turner states that he hopes through seeing problems in rural medicine up close, students will maintain the mindset of, “Wow, that is something we could help with someday!”  

Computer Science Department: Dr. Bill Eberle, Mr. Eric Brown, and Mrs. Ania Jennings  

Over the fall semester of 2019, Dr. Eberle, Mr. Brown, and Mrs. Jennings incorporated Rural Reimagined into three sections of a capstone course for Computer Science majors through approaching real world problems with computer science.  Students found a Grand Challenge problem, created mockups of software products that would address the problem, and presented them. Dr. Eberle stated that he really “liked the fact that we were doing something for the community,” and he appreciates Rural Reimagined because it gave students the opportunity to use their skills to solve real world problems in an exciting way.

Chemistry Department: Dr. Jeffrey Boles, Dr. Janet Coonce, Mrs. Ann Marie Carrick, and Mr. Thomas Turner 

In Fall 2019, Dr. Boles successfully integrated the Grand Challenge into four university connection classes through rural healthcare related challenges. Sixty students, instructed by Dr. Boles, Dr. Coonce, Mrs. Carrick, and Mr. Turner, researched solutions and disseminated results to rural problems through flyers, posters, and educational presentations. Dr. Boles loves Rural Reimagined, and he believes that “integrating Rural Reimagined into our pre-health science first year experience courses introduce it to new students.” 

Professional and Technical Communication: Instructor Gina Padgett  

In Fall 2019, Professional and Technical Communication Instructor Gina Padgett incorporated Rural Reimagined into her Communicating in the Professions course with flying colors. After learning about Tech’s Grand Challenge, Padgett’s students researched a real-world problem affecting people living in rural communities, critically evaluated the problem and used problem-solving skills to present a solution to the class. In addition to providing students with skills in persuasive communication, Padgett believes incorporating Rural Reimagined also “gives them the opportunity to create a solution for problems that affect people, their families, and their communities … life changing skills.”