When the ribbon was cut at the Titan Medical Arts Academy grand opening on Sept. 21, it not only marked the beginning of a new program at San Marino High School and the San Marino Unified School District, but also, for many of its students, it was the starting point on a lifelong journey toward one day fulfilling their calling as a health care professional.
The dual enrollment program, in partnership with Pasadena City College, allows students to explore the world of medicine, some for the first time, while earning college-level credit on the SMHS campus. The inaugural program has 76 students enrolled, which will conclude with internship opportunities during their senior year.
Through this four-year pathway, students will have access to state-of-the-art Anatomage tables and Precision OS, a medical-grade virtual reality software that can replicate the experience of being in an operating room in a digital environment. This equipment offers Titans special, firsthand exposure to experiences that they may not be able to encounter in other area schools, made possible through sizable grants from the San Marino PTAffiliates Board of Directors and the Rotary Club of San Marino.
“San Marino has a long-standing reputation of caring deeply about education and its quality of education,” de la Torre told the Tribune. “The community has rallied around education for as long as I’ve been here, and I’ve been here for 35 years. So it’s been an incredible difference-maker in San Marino that our community is so engaged — our parents are engaged, our city is engaged and our community groups are engaged. That’s one of the hallmarks of San Marino.”
The superintendent recognized the SMUSD Board of Education President Shelley Ryan, Assistant Superintendent Lena Richter and Board Vice President C. Joseph Chang for bringing the medical arts program to fruition.
The idea was first dreamed up by Chang, who is a retired hospital administrator with more than 35 years in the health care industry. Through his former role, he bridged the two worlds he holds so dearly to make way for the dual enrollment program that has recently unfolded on the SMHS campus.
“I feel so excited that the community supports my vision,” Chang told the Tribune. “It is a dream come true to see it come to life.”
De la Torre commended Chang’s efforts over the years. Without him, she said there would be no medical arts program at SMUSD to speak of.
“His research and valuable connections and relationships in the greater community have been instrumental in laying the foundation for the Titan Medical Arts Academy,” she said. “He has worked tirelessly on this project for well over a year, and really, this was his idea. … Through his leadership, through his determination and tenacity, we are standing here today, and I’m so grateful to him for his leadership in that capacity.”
Substantial financial support of the Titan Medical Arts Academy came largely from local groups, such as the Rotary Club of San Marino, which contributed a $25,000 grant to supply classrooms with iPads and Precision OS software, and the San Marino PTAffiliates Board of Directors which donated a $400,000 grant toward the program’s three Anatomage tables.
Principal Benjamin Wolf, who took the leadership role at the high school this year, said he was pleased with the attendance at the ribbon-cutting and the community’s involvement leading up to that milestone.
“That’s the awesome thing about being in San Marino compared to other communities — you wouldn’t get this kind of turnout in a lot of schools or school districts,” Wolf told the Tribune. “Then to have an affiliated organization give $400,000 — that is unheard of for a single high school program. That amount of money is the total budget of most high schools elsewhere, so having that support is just phenomenal.”
Typically only found in a medical school setting, the Anatomage tables offer 3D anatomy visualization and virtual dissection technology that has the ability to display an accurate and life-size image of various cadavers that SMHS students will be able to maneuver, analyze, anatomize and more.
“We are really excited about these tables,” PTAffiliates President Stephanie Duncan said. “Honestly, it’s so nice to see these kids actually play and learn a lot with them. … I am married to a spine surgeon, [so] it is really fun for me to show them how everything works … it’s really neat.”
Assemblyman Mike Fong praised the Titan Medical Arts Academy opening, adding that he is working to expand dual enrollment programs across California.
“This academy here on this campus will help students explore a multitude of medical careers through hands-on learning and research,” said Fong, who noted that he wished programs like this were available for students back when he went to high school in the early ’90s.
“This is the type of real-world experience we want our students to explore as they determine their next steps in their public education, high school and educational journey. … This is an opportunity to uplift our young people to ensure they have opportunities to look at careers to uplift our community,” Fong added.
Pasadena City College Board of Trustees President Kristine Kwong said “in order to preserve and to groom a generation of health care providers, you need to start early, and you need to learn how to be innovative and come up with brand-new ideas and to reach out across the aisle and to work with all of our community stakeholders” to execute a vision like this one.
The key to the Titan Medical Arts Academy’s success, Kwong said, will go beyond the two institutions, and will extend outward into the community, echoing a sentiment that seems to be steeped in the soil of the city.
“A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to tour the Medical Arts Academy — I almost fainted at how amazing it was. … A lot of this wouldn’t have happened unless the San Marino community came forward and said: ‘We believe in this vision because our society needs it,’” she expressed to attendees.
“I want to thank the San Marino Unified School District for allowing us to be your partner. You could have chosen other alliances and you have chosen to place your students’ future in our hands, and I thank you for giving us this trust.”
Though the academic year kicked off with a minor hiccup, with the SMHS academic calendar ahead of PCC, the two school schedules are now on track, Wolf said.
“The students are really happy and the two professors who are doing the very first classes are fantastic — really the only challenge has been the time, getting it started with PCC’s schedule because the college started after us and so we had to make sure we had things for the students to do until the professors were on board,” Wolf said. “But if that is the only challenge, then we don’t really have any challenges at all.”
While still in the development stages, conversations are being had between SMUSD and potential internship partners for seniors, including Huntington Hospital, USC Arcadia Hospital and the School of Pharmacy at USC, de la Torre said. The superintendent noted these options look “promising” as the district continues to finetune its medical arts curriculum, which may eventually include a chance for students to dip their toes into the history of medicine with a SMUSD parent, who is also a doctor and curator of the subject at the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
First published in the Sept. 28 issue of the San Marino Tribune
