Picture
Steve LaTurco, a Med-Start alumnus, talked to the students during the career chat. LaTurco is now the assistant principal.
Photo by Varun Bajaj
By Sierra Schulze
staff


High school students from across Arizona have the chance to experience what it’s like to work in the healthcare field through a hands-on health and science summer program at the University of Arizona.

The six-week long program, which kicked off June 3, helps high school students entering their senior year enhance their skills and desire to be in the medical field.  They explore different UA health programs such as, medicine, pharmacy, public health, and nursing. The program is also offered in Phoenix. 

Med-Start gives students a chance to explore their interests, said program coordinator Alma Aguirre-Cruz.

“The students have an interest in the healthcare field, but they get to learn what they want to be,” she said. 

The program started in 1969 to train minority students from rural and economically disadvantaged areas who will be the first in their families to attend college. 

Jacquel Rivers, a senior at Baboquivari High School in Sells, Ariz., discovered the program early.

“I heard about the program when I was a freshman and I was really interested in it,” Rivers said. “I couldn’t wait to get started as a junior.”

Participants might have a particular career in mind, but might find a new interest through the program. 

 
Audio by Sierra Schulze and Varun Bajaj Script by Carolyn Corcoran Supervisor Melissa Guz
 

Article down for maintainence

 
Picture
Franc Contreras Photo by Samantha Neville
By Samantha Neville
Staff

Franc Contreras, a freelance correspondent for Al Jazeera English, never liked reading or writing when in high school. 
      
Growing up in Tucson, Ariz., Contreras found comfort in playing the electric bass and watching films. After graduating high school, he went on to attend the University of Arizona where he gained an interest in radio.

"As I became more and more educated at the university level, I learned about something called National Public Radio,” Contreras said. “So I started listening to it, and that really changed the way I thought about storytelling. I became very interested in hearing human stories told with a human voice.”

After flunking out of the UA, Contreras moved to Iowa and enrolled at St. Ambrose University to pursue a career in radio. Initially getting a job as a jazz DJ on KALA-FM, he realized that he could see radio as a profession. 

“It had nothing to do with journalism. After a while I started thinking, “I do like storytelling,” he said. “I started reading newspapers more and more, and got very interested in daily news.” 

Contreras went on to work in Keokuk, Iowa, as a reporter for the Daily Gate City, where he found success. His first story, on an annual mushroom hunting contest, was placed on the front of the newspaper.  Yet even with his success, Contreras was not satisfied.

So Contreras went to the University of Iowa to earn a master’s degree in journalism. During this time, Contreras became what he described as a “fanatic”, of the radio program All Things Considered on NPR. 


 
 
Picture
Marge Pellegrino Photo by Hayleigh Daughtery
By Kathryn Burney
Staff

As a writer, Marge Pellegrino expresses herself by taking what she knows about a situation and looking at it from a different point of view. 

After the death of her brother, Pellegrino wrote a story about the experience that was published in a parenting magazine. 

“That story just kept echoing. I kept thinking about it, so I rewrote it as though my son had said it in his voice, and so that became my first children’s book,” Pellegrino said. 

The finished product, “I Don’t Have an Uncle Phil Anymore,” published in 1999, explored grief and how children process loss in their lives.

As a child, Pellegrino’s parents stressed to her the importance of public service, which inspired her next book, “My Grandma’s the Mayor.” 

“We were always doing something to help out the community,” she said. “I knew how good that felt, but now that I was a parent and I was going to my son’s school I realized there were only a couple of parents that got involved. I thought ‘Wow, kids are not getting this model. I could write a story about that,’ so I did.”



 
Jim and Ruth Arnold
Arnold's parents Jim and Ruth Arnold. Photo by Marissa Alejandre
By Nick Trujillo
Staff


Jeff Arnold, a blind McKale Center ticket salesman at the University of Arizona, always looked on the brighter side of life. 

He was always in a happy mood and always made people feel like they were wanted until the day he died May 9 of a brain tumor he had since he was 2 years old. His memorial service was held on June 2, in front of  family and friends in McKale Center. 

One guest who spoke was Bud Foster, an anchor for KOLD News 13.

“When the basketball games would happen, Jeff and I would sit in the stands and (he) would be our run-on commentator,” Foster said. “Whenever the broadcasters would make a mistake Jeff would always be there to correct them. When the refs would make a bad call, Jeff would stand up and yell "I’m blind and I could make a better call than that.”

The mood quickly changed from somber to peaceful. 

UA defensive back Victor Yates also shared words about Arnold. 

“I came across meeting Jeff in the McKale Center Ticket Office,” Yates said. “I walked in and he heard someone say my name and he was like ‘Oh Victor Yates’ and I was like ‘yeah it’s me.’ Then I realized he was blind. So I was like, ‘oh this is cool, a blind person who is really into UA sports.”

Yates also considered Arnold as a “brother in faith” and would meet with him on Wednesdays for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) meetings and talk about how God related to their lives. 

Dana Cooper, a fellow “brother in faith,” remembered Arnold fondly.

“He was an extraordinary guy,” Cooper said. “He had a real sense of adventure. He didn’t let his blindness put any limits on him. He was willing to try anything. He loved God and it gave him a lot of hope, a lot of optimism to face his circumstances. In spite of all that, he had a strong assurance that God loved him and was watching out for him.”

As the tumor became more severe, Arnold took the time to do many things he wanted to do, such as paragliding and holding the Stanley Cup above his head.

“Who in their right mind would walk up to the Stanley Cup and hoist it above their head just for the fun of it? ” Cooper asked. "Jeff would."

 
 
By Varun Bajaj 
Staff

On the second day of the diversity workshop, the staff of The Chronicle recorded a field-safety workshop for handling rattlesnakes. 

The training session became the subject of video projects by the staff as they learned how to produce video journalism projects. Cecil Schwalbe, a herpetologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, led the demonstration of techniques on safely handling and removing rattlesnakes. 

“I started doing these [safety presentations] when I was with Arizona Game and Fish from 1984 to ’90,” Schwalbe said. “By about 1986, I began teaching people to safely move rattlesnakes out of their camp.” 

Keith Perfetti, The Chronicle's web master and a mentor for the workshop, participated with the safety training. 

“[Schwalbe] showed us the proper way to… pick up [a rattlesnake] mid-body and put it in a giant trashcan,” Perfetti said. “The Dow Jones High School Journalism students were learning videography, so they were recording the lifting up of snakes and putting the snakes down.” 

Rogelio Garcia, an adjunct professor at the University of Arizona, prepared the students for the videography practice. Garcia, who also trains scientists on videography, prepped the students on videojournalism. 

“[Garcia] worked with us on the angles, high and low, and the zooming,” Kenzie Hawley said. “The video project is about the snake demonstration we did this morning. I’m editing and revising it until it’s prim and proper.” 

Watch for the video piece of the workshop produced by the students coming later this week. 

You can see the picture here.
 
Cecil Schwalbe is a BAMF
Cecil Schwalbe, a herpetologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, demonstrates how to safely handle a rattlesnake on the University of Arizona campus. Photo by Hayleigh Daugherty