With her junior year coming to a close and the thought of college and career on the brain, Luverne High School student Megan Hudson now prepares for a summer she won’t soon forget.

Recently, Hudson was chosen by the University of Alabama to participate in their five-week Rural Health Scholars Program starting on May 29, and she is more than ready to further explore the world of healthcare.

“I heard about the program in Mrs. Becky’s class. She told me about the program and I was instantly interested. You had to have a minimum of a 21 on the ACT, at least two letters of recommendation and an essay stating why you thought you deserved the opportunity,” Hudson said.

“I worked so hard to get the ACT score and bugged the mess out of my teachers for the letters of recommendation. I ended up applying with an ACT score of 25 and five letters of recommendation. I also wrote a two-page essay.”

Many of Hudson’s favorite high school experiences took place in the classroom of Becky Cornelius, health science instructor for Crenshaw County Schools. In these classes, Hudson has had the opportunity to explore the world of healthcare with real-life scenarios demonstrated in the Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) group, as well as through multiple other activities.

“My favorite part of high school is definitely Mrs. Becky’s class. She constantly throws opportunities at us and it’s our responsibility to find out if it’s really what we want and to go for it,” Hudson said.

“She definitely pushes me to my limits and is one of the best roles models ever.”

During the program, Hudson will be enrolled in two college classes, creative writing and chemistry, at no academic risk. She will also participate in chemistry labs and will have the chance to shadow physicians.

“I expect to make connections with professors at The University of Alabama and befriend people of the same interests as me. After high school, I am prepared to go to college and study medicine,” Hudson said.

“My ultimate goal is to be a flight nurse on Life Flight, but I have to do plenty of years working trauma in a hospital, of course.”

Hudson stated that being part of Cornelius’ classes has truly aided her in preparing for college, as well as her future career endeavors. Through Cornelius’ classes, students also have the opportunity to intern at the local hospital and participate in many hospital-related activities. According to Cornelius, only 25 students were selected for this program from the applications sent in statewide.

“I am thrilled that Megan has been selected to be a part of the University of Alabama’s Rural Health Scholar program. We get information on this program yearly and our students were allowed to talk more with the UA program representatives at the HOSA State Leadership Conference in February,” Cornelius said.

“In ten years of teaching Health Science, I have not had a student obtain this, so to say I am proud of Megan is an understatement. You do not have many students willing to use a month of their summer to spend more time in school, but this opportunity, I feel, should be well worth it for her future career plans.”