Summer program brings young students to college at WCMC-Q

The students, all at the top in their class in schools around Doha, joined the Qatar Summer Math & Reading Talent Scholars (Q-Smarts) program sponsored by Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar.

Math brainteasers and writing competitions were led by graduates of the medical college and four teaching assistants to give the students new ways of learning English and math.

"It's way better than regular school," said Maha Abdulrahman, a rising 9th grader from Moza Bint Mohammed Independent School. "The teachers mix academics with fun."

The program brought new life to lessons learned during the year, according to Kobi Felton, a rising 9th grader at the American School of Doha. "I learned about the working of the heart in school, but here we could actually listen to the sounds of the heart using mannequins in the WCMC-Q Clinical Skills Center. The facilities are great," he added.

For Saeed Alnaimi, the Q-Smarts program was an opportunity to make some new friends and experience the college setting. "In the lecture halls, we each had our own desk with a microphone for answering questions or offering comments. It was very nice to feel like a college student for awhile," said Saeed, a rising 7th grader who is at the top of his class at Qatar Academy.

"We want to share with younger students our interest in math and our enthusiasm for our medical education," said Sara Hassan, MD, a May graduate of WCMC-Q who will join Hamad Medical Corporation in the fall for residency training in surgery. "We want to encourage them to enjoy their education and work hard, especially if they want to go to a good college or university," said Noor Suleiman, MD, a May graduate who will go to Hamad Medical Corporation for a residency training in internal medicine.

Q-Smarts is one of three summer enrichment programs sponsored by WCMC-Q for high school students.

"Our goal is to stimulate the students' intellectual curiosity and help them think seriously about their future educational goals,"

said Noha Saleh, director of student recruitment.

"By showing them a little bit of college life, we hope we can help them develop a clearer idea of their interests and career possibilities," she added.

"We are fortunate to have a very diverse group of youngsters in the program. Half of the students are Qatari and the other half represent a broad range of nationalities. All of them are excellent students who rank at the top of their class. It's wonderful to share our facilities and academic programs with them."