Emma Downer has been named delegate to the Congress of Future Medical Leaders in Lowell, MA in June 2020. The Congress is an honors-only program for high school students who want to become physicians or go into medical research fields. Downer is a junior at Huron High School in New Boston. (Photo courtesy of Dawn Downer)
By Scott Bolthouse | The Huron Hub
ScottBolthouse@HuronHub.com
Posted Nov. 11, 2019
Emma Downer, a junior at Huron High School in New Boston, has been named delegate to the Congress of Future Medical Leaders.
The Congress will meet in Lowell, Mass. on June 24-26, and Downer has been chosen to represent Michigan.
Only high school honors students who want to become physicians or go into medical research fields are allowed into the program.
The event in June is held to honor, inspire, motivate and direct the top students in the country interested in these careers, to stay true to their dream and, after the event, to provide a path, plan and resources to help them reach their goal, the National Academy of Future Physicians said in a statement.
Downer’s nomination was signed by Dr. Mario Capecchi, winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine and the Science Director of the National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists.
She was chosen to represent Michigan based on her academic achievement, leadership potential and determination to serve humanity in the field of medicine, the Academy said.
During the three-day Congress, Downer will join students from across the country and hear Nobel Laureates and National Medal of Science winners talk about leading medical research, be given advice from Ivy League and top medical school deans on what to expect in medical school and witness stories told by patients who are living medical miracles.
The Congress will also learn about cutting-edge advances and the future in medicine and medical technology, and learn from other teenage prodigies in the medial field.
It is a crucial time in America, according to the Academy.
“We need more doctors and medical scientists who are even better prepared for a future that is changing exponentially. Focused, bright and determined students like Emma Downer are our future and she deserves all the mentoring and guidance we can give her,” the Academy said in a statement.
The Academy offers free services and programs to students who want to become physicians or go into medical science.
Some of the services and programs the Academy offers are online social networks through which future doctors and medical scientists can communicate, opportunities for students to be guided and mentored by physicians and medical students, and communications for parents and students on college acceptance and finances, skills acquisition, internships, and career guidance.
“The National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists was founded on the belief that we must identify prospective medical talent at the earliest possible age and help these students acquire the necessary experience and skills to take them to the doorstep of this vital career,” the Academy said.
Based in Washington, D.C. with offices in Boston, Mass., the Academy was chartered as a nonpartisan, taxpaying institution to help address this crisis by working to identify, encourage and mentor students who wish to devote their lives to the service of humanity as physicians, medical scientists.
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