EASLEY — Four Easley High School seniors were selected by Science Department Head, Jan Burroughs, to attend the Role Models in Medicine at USC’s Medical University Center in Columbia.

“The four seniors I selected were Lauren Williams, Dane Weyman, Julia Gates, and Hunter Dodd,” Burroughs said. “I chose them based on their performance in class and their interest in going into the medical field.”

Burroughs started the Anatomy and Physiology Program at Easley High School in 2006.

“When the state excluded the human body from the biology standards, I felt there was a need to start an anatomy and physiology program for students that were interested in going into the medical profession,” Burroughs said.

The four Easley seniors selected to attend the event were excited about getting some hands-on experience.

“We learned how to perform a couple of different hands-on techniques with sutures,” said Dane Weyman.

Weyman would like to pursue a career in dermatology after high school.

“We got to visit the ultra-sound lab and that was pretty interesting,” said Hunter Dodd. “I decided to go all out and had an ultra-sound done on my heart. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life.”

Dodd would like to study nursing in the United States Navy after high school.

“We got to talk to some of the medical students and actual doctors,” said Lauren Williams. “They answered questions about funds and other things. It was really cool.”

Williams would like to pursue a career in pediatrics after high school.

“We got to go and look at the cadavers that each medical student works on for a semester and we got to open them up and hold organs like the lungs and heart, said Julia Gates. “We got to see how the human body fits together and works.”

Gates would like to study animal medicine after high school.

“You can imagine where the body parts are, but we actually got to see where they are and it was a once in a lifetime experience,” Dodd said.

Burroughs hopes that this experience will inspire the students even more.

“I just hope that coming away from this they will have a more intense desire to go into the field of medicine and help everybody,” Burroughs said.