Ava Rae Gurievsky

US Science Teacher Lisa Peck instructs junior Donyae Hazley through virtual reality. During this lesson, students were exploring what the interior of organs, such as the heart, look like in 3D.

     In 2014, US Science Teacher and Director of the Peck Center for Medical Sciences Lisa Peck landed in the hospital to have 14 inches of her colon removed after a severe bacterial abscess. “On the second day in the hospital, the general surgeon came in and saw me grading anatomy papers, and he said, ‘Do your kids want to come and watch me operate?’” she said. And there. Shorecrest’s Pre-Med program was born.

     After Peck’s recovery, she started reaching out to other doctors in the Shorecrest community. Some began to speak during her classes, but she wanted these meetings to be more accessible for all students, not just those in her classes, so she started the Pre-Med Club. 

     In 2016, Peck and her husband John Peck donated money to create a center for medical sciences. “We wanted it to be a wow factor. When you walk into this room, he wanted everyone to just say, ‘wow,’” L. Peck said. “He wanted people to come to Shorecrest, take my classes and possibly go into healthcare.” 

     In order to achieve this, “I did a lot of research to find the best equipment. And then, I started developing the center,” she said. “I went to a tech conference and fell in love with VR, so I now have two VR headsets.” These VR headsets are used in the heart unit, so her students can see what hearts look like on the inside. 

     In addition to the VR sets, the center houses numerous types of models, skeletons, dissection and healthcare equipment, such as stethoscopes and blood pressure machines.  

     After Peck started the center, she spoke with Dr. Paul Pagano, an Orthopaedic Spine Surgeon, who suggested a medical engineering course at Shorecrest. Peck and Pagano then built this new aspect of the course along with Dean of Faculty & Curriculum Dr. Anna Baralt. Finally, she reached out to Director of the Ross Roeder Institute Earl Walton and US Language & Social Studies Teacher Christian Marcelli to incorporate business and law as well. 

     The Pre-Med Club, created to expand the program, features speakers, usually Shorecrest community members, in the healthcare industry. Speakers’ expertise range from insurance professionals to surgeons. Sometimes, club members can dissect animal organs alongside the surgeon.

   The Peck Center for Medical Sciences has a large impact on the Shorecrest community. Pre-Med Club President senior Georgia Kurland, who will be attending Tulane University to study cellular and molecular biology, felt that her passion for medicine came from the Pre-Med program. “I wasn’t someone who grew up wanting to be a doctor; that was never really a thought for me,” she said. “From [the Pre-Med program], I have truly deepened my passion more than I ever thought I could…So, in that regard, it’s been absolutely amazing.” 

     Students not only find their passion for medicine from the program, like Kurland, but they also benefit from the program in other ways, especially, according to Director of College Counseling Myra Simpson, if they are planning on applying for a 7-8 year combined BS/MD degree program. “Oftentimes, colleges look at what sort of experiences have you already had related to medicine. Have you shadowed any doctors? So, the things that our program offers are things that admission committees are looking for.” 

     The Pre-Med program made Kurland feel empowered because she had the opportunity to shadow multiple inspirational female doctors who had to overcome challenges. “I wouldn’t have had that [opportunity] if I weren’t in the Pre-Med Club. Mrs. Peck is truly so special, and an incredibly special part of Shorecrest,” she said.