School set to offer immersive STEM enrichment program to high school students in Eastern and Western North Carolina

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Mariava Phillips
February 12, 2025

Written by Safa Tonuzi.

The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy will partner with Southeastern Community College, Western Piedmont Community College, and Carolina College Advising Corps to provide rising high school juniors and seniors from rural and underserved communities in North Carolina an immersive summer camp supplemented with a yearlong, longitudinal program.

High school juniors and seniors can now apply for the Promoting Innovation and Lifelong Learning in STEM (PILLS) program.

Made possible by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the school received a total of $180,000 through the Fund’s Student STEM Enrichment Program initiative. The grant will fund three years of PILLS.

Wendy Cox, the primary contact of the program and Associate Dean for Admissions and Accreditation, says “The programs will be really exciting and meaningful.” Coming from an “underserved” community in Eastern North Carolina, Cox wishes to invoke interest in these communities and inspire future pharmacy and pharmaceutical science students to return and serve similar rural and underserved communities across the state.

The program will take place over two days, immersing students in the world of pharmacy practice. “We’ll have a lot of hands-on activities planned for the students to have fun and to ensure they will be engaged in activities that will be of interest to them,” said Cox.

Both days will offer educational activities like DNA extraction of strawberries, creating products while learning about the components of them, and panel discussions with pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists from the surrounding area.

Students can expect an engaging experience while learning about the booming STEM career opportunities that their communities have to offer.