Summer Scholars 2014: Prospective Furman students experience the field of Health Sciences and learn how to “Live Well”
Every summer, I have the pleasure of spending one week with 7-15 prospective Furman students in the Summer Scholars program. Summer Scholars are rising high school juniors or seniors who have expressed an interest in attending Furman and are particularly interested in our Department of Health Sciences or wellness in general. Summer Scholars visit us from all over the country.
Students stay on campus in the dormitories, dine in the Dining Hall, have a pool party at the President’s house White Oakes, and enjoy nightly activities in downtown Greenville. During the day, I expose them to Furman academics by offering various lectures, laboratory demonstrations, leading exercise classes, and leading field trips. It is really a fun-filled week!
From left to right pictured above: (top row): Adrian, MacKenzie, Tatiana, Allison, Jordan (current Furman Health Sciences major and Summer Scholars counselor), Natalee (recent Furman grad and Summer Scholars administrator), Yolanda (current Furman Health Sciences major and Summer Scholars counselor); (bottom row): Lauren, Eric, Kelly
Many departments on campus offer various themes of the Summer Scholars program. Our program was entitled “Live Well” and was designed to expose students to the scientific theories and practical applications of Health Sciences– particularly Exercise Science and Nutrition.
Each morning, the classroom lecture/discussion covered a different aspect of Health Sciences. Topics included: “the Shape of a Healthy Diet,” “Starting and Effective Exercise Program, ” “Navigating the Supermarket,” “Food and Disease”, and “Weight Management That Works.”
After our classroom session, we took a break to exercise. Workouts included an orientation to the Furman Fitness Center and equipment, Body Fit weight training class with stability balls and resistance bands, P90X Plyometrics workout, yoga class, and a cycling class:
After the workout, students have a break to shower and eat lunch. We spent the afternoons taking field trips.
On Tuesday, students paired up and competed against each other for a “Navigating the Supermarket” Scavenger Hunt. They have various challenges such as finding a whole grain cereal that is low in sugar and high in fiber, finding an organic processed food that is low in nutrients, or finding a vegetable or fruit of every color of the rainbow that they enjoy to eat.
The first pair to complete the entire challenge wins $50 to purchase groceries for the week… not to mention bragging rights for the rest of the week.
Adrian and Kelly search through salad greens to find varieties high in vitamin A:
Tatiana and MacKenzie search for yogurt that is low in sugar:
Think these “veggie puffs” are full of veggies? Think again…
Is this dark colored bread made of whole grains or refined grains?:
The winning team was Eric and Jordan… they were pretty excited to buy some extra grub for the week.
Everyone else was able to buy a few snacks also. Here is the crew after the Scavenger Hunt ready to chow down.
Our next field trip was to the Sandy Molnar Human Performance Lab and Metabolic Lab in our Herman W. Lay Physical Activities Center. These labs are used by our Health Science faculty and majors for teaching and research purposes. They house equipment for VO2 max testing (aerobic endurance), EMG activity (analyzes which muscles are used during activities), gait analysis (helps runners to correct form), lactate analysis, body composition analysis, and much more. Students were also able to observe or experience the Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) body composition assessment.
We were honored to have fellow Health Sciences faculty member Dr. Scott Murr guest lecture for this portion of the program. Dr. Murr described the Furman Institute for Running and Scientific Training (FIRST) and scientific theories behind aerobic training.
Summer Scholars student Lauren also received a state-of-the art VO2 max analysis in the Metabolic Lab:
Cross Country training is paying off… great job Lauren!
On Thursday, we were honored to tour the Furman Farm with Furman student and Assistant Farm Manager Phoebe Ferguson. Phoebe explained how the farm composts scraps from the Furman Dining Hall to make a nutrient rich fertilizer or “compost tea.”
She also described sustainable agricultural practices such as using crop rotations, integrated pest management, solar panels, rain barrels, and drip lines.
Students were able to pick fresh produce for our class potluck:
Phoebe was kind enough to send us away with a few mementos, like freshly picked blueberries, basil, eggplant, and these GORGEOUS heirloom tomatoes (more on those later):
On our final day, the Biology Department was kind enough to let us use their kitchen and classroom for a class potluck! (Special thanks to Dr. Laura Thompson for her generosity) Students selected, shopped for, and prepared a dish of their choice. Some searched the internet, others called mom, but overall this crew was pretty experienced in the kitchen and was eager to get started.
And wait until you see this feast!
Lauren made her famous vegetable stir-fry with arugula:
Yolanda drizzled a sesame-soy sauce over steamed eggplant, tofu, and cilantro. I am always amazed how beautiful her dishes are and love the authentic Chinese inspiration. She definitely earned her title as Furman Culinary Club president!
Adrian and MacKenzie made homemade pesto with basil from the Furman Farm. They tossed it with grape tomatoes, white beans, and whole grain pasta for a delicious salad.
(Not pictured) Tatiana must follow a gluten-free diet and planned to make her favorite pasta salad with gluten-free pasta (such as the brown-rice and quinoa variety at Trader Joes), mashed avocado, and canned tuna. Sadly, the avocado was a little overripe and we had to improvise a little but that definitely sounds like a great dish to try.
Kelly made a delicious curry with chicken, potatoes, carrots, and onions… talk about comfort food:
Allison made homemade blueberry muffins:
Adrian and MacKenzie made a fruit pizza for dessert that was quickly devoured:
Below this was my “dish”… sliced heirloom tomatoes from the Furman Farm sprinkled with just a dash of salt. Conventional grocery store tomatoes are grown to transport well and resist getting mushy and rotten. Many are genetically modified, are picked underripe, and ripened with gas during transit. And while they look pretty, they usually don’t taste that great.
Heirloom tomato seeds are chosen and passed down from farmer generation to generation because they are SO flavorful! This is one of my favorite summertime treats and I am always excited to see these at the local farmer’s market or Furman Farm. I just sliced them and served. Delicious.
This was my plate pictured below (okay, I confess… it was my first plate… I couldn’t fit everything on it).
Eric made his mother’s baked sweet potatoes topped with lean ground turkey Sloppy Joes. Right behind it you will see Jordan’s homemade Black Bean Burgers with black beans, mashed cook sweet potatoes, cumin, chili powder, red onion, jalapeno, and cilantro. So delicious! These men can COOK!
It was a great ending to the perfect week:
