In the last summer of her senior year at Waukee High School in Waukee, Iowa, Gabby Duncan, D.O.’24, decided to participate in the Waukee Aspiring Professional Experience and enrolled in the Exploration of Health Sciences and Medicine course. She planned to attend the University of Iowa to study biology on a premedical track but was unsure which health career path was right for her.
The Waukee APEX program exposes high school juniors and seniors to different pathways of success after high school. Students partner with local businesses and organizations in health services, finance, engineering, technology and biosciences to take on-site projects, gain real-world experiences and explore careers.
“I was on the fence between physical therapy, pharmacy and becoming a medical doctor, and I got to shadow all those roles and more in APEX,” Duncan says. “I learned that physical therapy and pharmacy were not for me, so I was able to frame my college education in that context.”
Duncan learned about Des Moines University Medicine and Health Sciences through APEX. DMU has been a founding partner of the Waukee APEX program since its inception in 2014, which entailed bringing Waukee APEX students to campus every week to learn about health careers and perform research with DMU faculty.
“When I was approached by APEX leaders, they asked for a two-year commitment from us to provide faculty mentors and dedicated space on campus,” says Angela L. Walker Franklin, Ph.D., who became DMU’s president and CEO in 2011. “I got a little nervous because those were my early years, too. But everyone was supportive, and it’s been a valuable partnership. It’s a model for what we can and need to imagine in education innovation.”
“DMU is one of our most cherished partners that has been with us since the beginning,” Michelle Hill, APEX work-based learning director says. “Before we even started with students, DMU administration and faculty helped us dream about what the program might look like. They provided valuable input on curriculum, resources and experiences for the program.”
Hill shared over half of APEX participants are in the health and human services sector and have partnered with DMU in some way. Duncan is among several APEX graduates who later enrolled at DMU. “APEX is the reason I came here,” she says. “I liked the smaller school setting and felt more of a connection here. It felt like a place where I could succeed.”
For Meaghan Greteman, D.O.’25, Waukee APEX enabled her to confirm her longtime interest in a medical career.
“We had meetings with DMU student ambassadors and President Franklin and had opportunities to get involved on campus in the surgery lab, the simulation center and OMM demonstrations,” Greteman says. “As soon as I did APEX, DMU is where I wanted to go to medical school. I wouldn’t have had that opportunity, as a high school student, to interact with medical students and faculty without APEX.”
Another APEX alumna, Malia Lake, M.S.A.’22, D.O.’26, took a more circuitous route to DMU. In high school, she took APEX’s Designing Communication Solutions.
“I had no medical interests in high school,” Lake says.
She studied computer science at Iowa State University and landed an internship with a tech company her first year but “hated it.” So, she completed training as a certified nursing assistant, worked at a local hospital and switched her major to biology, cramming all the required coursework into five semesters and two summers.
Knowing she “needed something to get into medical school,” Lake enrolled in DMU’s Master of Science in Anatomy program at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. She and her six M.S.A. classmates were the only students on campus, working with Donald Matz, Ph.D., professor and chair of the anatomy department, to perform dissections that were livestreamed to other DMU clinical students.
“That was such a special experience,” Lake says. “I could go on and on about the opportunities students have at DMU. But if I hadn’t done something I hated, I wouldn’t have realized what makes me happy.”
The three APEX alumni agree they gained skills in the program beyond exposure to real-world careers.
“My time in APEX taught me crucial skills such as professionalism, interview skills, how to act in the workplace, how to build a resume and so much more,” Lake says. “The skills I gained in APEX are universal and necessary skills that apply to every student, whether they’re going into college, trade school or getting a job after graduation. APEX is what helped me develop from a student to a professional.”
