FROM STAFF REPORTS

Michael Respinto of Alabaster was among a select group of high school students from across the state to complete the 2007 Rural Health Scholars Program at the University of Alabama. The program introduces rural students to college life and demonstrates the need for health and medical professionals in their own communities. Respinto lived on campus for five weeks during the summer, visiting rural hospitals and a state medical school and learning how to prepare academically for a career in health or medicine