For the third consecutive year, high school-aged students will be able to get a glimpse of medical school. The West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine’s (WVSOM) third annual Clinical Anatomy Summer Experience (C.A.S.E.) camp will take place June 23-27 on the school’s Lewisburg campus.
The camp, designed to introduce young science enthusiasts to anatomical structures and their clinical importance, will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day. It allows students to receive hands-on clinical anatomy education in WVSOM’s gross anatomy lab and participate in interactive activities in the classroom, as well as offer them a snapshot of health care careers.
The 2025 camp is open to rising high school juniors and seniors as well as new high school graduates. Students can apply online at www.wvsom.edu/summer-camps by submitting a letter of recommendation from a teacher, a signed parent permission form and a one-page essay outlining their experience in learning anatomy and what they hope to gain from attending the camp.
Applications will be accepted through May 1.
Karen Wines, a member of WVSOM’s biomedical sciences faculty who leads the camp with the assistance of medical student interns, said she is eager to work with high-schoolers who are interested in entering the health care field.
“As this is the camp’s third year, we have some great activities and programming planned,” Wines said. “This is a wonderful opportunity to get a first look at medical education and talk with current students who are on the path to becoming the next generation of physicians.”
There is no cost to participate, but campers not local to Lewisburg will need to find housing. Campers who are selected to attend can apply for a scholarship to help with the cost of housing.
Ava Stover, a high school student from Hinton, who attended the camp in 2024, said she gained experience and confidence she would not otherwise have had an opportunity to develop.
“I’ve always been curious about what goes on in the body, and the camp gave me a hands-on look at things I’d been questioning for a long time,” she said. “I’d love to go into the medical field, and spending time in the anatomy lab and learning to properly use surgical instruments gave me a feeling of ‘I can do this.’”
The C.A.S.E. camp is sponsored by the Jeanne G. Hamilton and Lawson W. Hamilton, Jr. Family Foundation, FirstEnergy Corp., the WVSOM Foundation and the WVSOM Alumni Association.
For more information, contact Karen Wines at kwines@osteo.wvsom.edu.
