TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Eight students selected from the Black Belt region recently completed the 2006 Minority Rural Health Pipeline Program at The University of Alabama.

Recent high school graduates who planned to enter college in the next academic year were eligible to attend the five-week summer program. The students attended tutorials and seminars on the UA campus and took field trips to rural medical facilities to learn from African-American physicians.

The program was initiated to increase the number of minority students from rural Alabama who qualify for admission to medical school. This is the sixth year of the program at the UA College of Community Health Sciences.

Participants in the 2006 Minority Rural Health Pipeline Program at UA included:

Antonio Gardner (right) a May 2006 high school graduate from Autauga County who plans to attend Alabama A&M University, pictured with Cynthia Moore (left), assistant director of the UA Rural Scholars Program.
Laterrica Simmons (left) a May 2006 high school graduate from Dallas County who plans to attend UA, pictured with Cynthia Moore (right), assistant director of the UA Rural Scholars Program.
Brooks Jones (right) a May 2006 high school graduate from Greene County who plans to attend Alabama A&M University, pictured with Cynthia Moore (left), assistant director of the UA Rural Scholars Program.
Collins Peterson (right) a May 2006 high school graduate from Marengo County who plans to attend Alabama A&M University, pictured with Cynthia Moore (left), assistant director of the UA Rural Scholars Program.
Sakeisha Lett (right) who plans to attend UAB, and Lauren Farr (left) who plans to attend Alabama A&M, both May 2006 high school graduates from Monroe County, pictured with Cynthia Moore (center), assistant director of the UA Rural Scholars Program.
Jocelyn Gipson (right) a May 2006 high school graduate from Pickens County who plans to attend UAB, pictured with Cynthia Moore (left), assistant director of the UA Rural Scholars Program.
Celsa Allende (left) a May 2006 high school graduate from Randolph County, who plans to attend Alabama A&M University, pictured with Cynthia Moore (left), assistant director of the UA Rural Scholars Program.