Oscar’s Story

When I first met Oscar a junior at Health & Science High School (HS2), he was an extremely disengaged, cynical young man. Crapper JeffreyHe was barely on track to graduate, struggling to get Cs in his classes, and rarely participated in classroom lessons or activities. Sadly, Oscar could have easily been one of the 40 percent of Latino males that dropout of high school in Oregon. However, that all changed when he enrolled in my Biomedical Innovations class.

The self-paced, project-based focus of my Biomedical Innovations Health Science CTE class encouraged Oscar to thrive. He took leadership roles in his Human Physiology Experiment, excelled in his Orthopedic Injury capstone, and then coordinated an independent research project involving our Biomechanics Motion Capture System.

Although Oscar has decided not to pursue a career in the medical field, his appreciation and interest in photography and filming has carried over to an interest in the field of Biomechanics. Oscar, on his own, met virtually with biomechanists to develop a screening protocol for female athletes and anterior cruciate ligament injuries. His skill and interest has allowed him the opportunity to instruct other students how to use this state of the art activity.

Currently, our biomechanics lab rivals the current motion capture system used at local universities and graduate schools in the area. Throughout my career, I have observed my Health Science CTE program transform the lives of my students, especially my students of color and who are economically disadvantaged. If it were not for the dynamic, highly engaging curriculum embedded into the Biomedical Innovations course in our Health Science CTE pathway, Oscar would have been less inclined to stay focused and engaged academically.

Not only did Oscar learn valuable academic skills. His professionalism, leadership traits, and incredible problem solving skills were exhibited daily in his various interactions with industry professionals. A year ago, I would have never guessed that the young man who rarely moved his head off the table in class might someday be meeting and collaborating with biomechanists and industry vendors independently from across the country. Although he has never volunteered before, Oscar completed his volunteer application at HS2 and criminal background check before he even graduated, so he can return to my school and still volunteer with the motion capture project. In addition, I saw a level of maturity that I had never observed previously in this young man. In fact, Oscar is an incredible teacher to his former peers and considers the motion capture project part of his legacy at HS2.

Our Health Science CTE program at Health & Science High School was the mechanism that opened up incredible opportunities for this young man. As Oscar’s teacher, I was blessed to see the development of an incredible desire to learn, which previously had been missing. He finally loved the art of learning, took ownership in his own education, and developed the leadership and maturity necessary to converse with industry professionals without feeling intimidated or inferior. As his Biomedical Innovations Health Science CTE teacher, I could not be prouder of him and his amazing accomplishments last year.

Best.practices.oscar.s.story.photo.1-1

Best.practices.oscar.s.story.photo.2-1