The Pipeline Program

The word “pipeline” is defined as a channel by which information is transmitted sequentially. For students at and South Atlanta High School, “pipeline” also means transformation through education.

In 2007, two Emory medical students began a non-profit, the Pipeline Program, which "is meant to serve as a 'pipeline' to mentor students and to help them excel to the next level of their life and education,” Jen Spicer, Pipeline’s incoming President, told Patch.

South Atlanta High School, which is split up into four schools (Computer Animation and Design, Health and Medicine, Law and Justice, and Leadership and Economic Empowerment) students may apply to the program their sophomore year.

Administrators at the school select students to participate in 10 to 20 sessions at Emory Medical School every year until they graduate high school. The high school students are paired with second year undergraduates who serve as mentors for the whole three-year program.

Public health and medical students facilitate the teaching at many of the sessions, with undergraduates increasing their teaching role each year.  

Pipeline’s goals are to foster mentorship between every person involved, help high school students reach college, expose these students to various health professions and to teach them healthy behaviors for their own lives.

When Pipeline students come to Emory they take part in problem-based learning sessions led by Emory undergraduates, medical students and public health students. The high schoolers also have the opportunity to meet Emory physicians, hear about disease experiences from patient’s perspective, and visit Grady and Emory hospitals to learn how medical equipment functions.

As pipelines are, the program is sequential.

Their sophomore year, the students learn about HIV/AIDS and other STDs, contraception and sexual health in general. They actively learn about these important topics through a story about a fictional young girl who is newly diagnosed with HIV.

Pipeline students also have the opportunity to meet adolescents from the Ponce Infectious Disease Program who are living with the disease. Students are also asked to get artistic by creating a short film focused on sexual health.

Their junior year, Pipeline students learn about neurology and mental health. The high school students study brain injury, as well as pertinent to their age and experience, the issues of substance abuse and depression.

Finally, their senior year of high school, the students focus on cardiology, diabetes, nutrition, and exercise. Emory’s Pipeline team also integrates a college-prep curriculum that helps with the college application process.

The program prepares students for college based learning and gives them hands on experiences in the healthcare industry at an early age.

"I think the Emory pipeline program is a wonderful experience," a former student in the program said. "We’re in high school, and we’re learning things that people don’t learn til they get to their second year in college or even their first year in medical school."

The Pipeline Program is fueled by donations and volunteers. For more information, visit The Emory Pipeline website.