Samford University’s Howard College of Arts and Sciences is hosting 42 high school students at its second annual M.D. Calling summer camp June 23-26.

The rising high school juniors and seniors from throughout the southeast are experiencing college life as they learn what it takes to pursue a medical career.

The 2013 M.D. Calling program offers sessions with Samford faculty and staff, meetings with healthcare professionals and medical students, teambuilding exercises and fun medical-themed activities.

Samford professors and staff members Charlotte Brammer, Dave Garza, George Keller and Brent Latta are leading sessions on subjects ranging from medical research to interview skills.

Samford alumnus Bradley Dennis, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Birmingham’s Brookwood Hospital, gave the students a behind-the-scenes look at the workings of that facility on Tuesday.

Nathan Smith, M.D., addressed attendees at dinner Sunday. Medical student Katie Snider will discuss her experiences Tuesday evening.

Other medical students and healthcare professionals will take part in panel discussions and “speed interview” sessions.

Organizer and college assistant dean Dana Basinger said the goal of the camp is not simply to prepare students to apply for medical school, but also to explore a personal calling to the practice of medicine.

Samford pre-med student Brooke Bailey, a counselor for the 2012 program, described a conversation with a female participant last year that summed up the unique mission of the project. ‘She asked me tons of questions about my own faith and passion for people, and eventually, she began tying together everything we learned from the camp,” Bailey said. “She learned that her passion to work with people in a medically-related way is driven by her faith and love for others”.