Focus on TUSD - May 2008

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On a Roll
Henry Elementary Nurtures Boys Who Went On to Medical School
Four little boys who attended Henry Elementary School two decades ago have exceeded even their teachers' wildest expectations.

This year, three of those boys will graduate from medical school, and the fourth will graduate next year. This month, three of those former students gathered in one of the classrooms after school, reminiscing about their years at the neighborhood school at 650 N. Igo Way. Two of their teachers met them at the door, telling them they always knew this small group was destined for big things.

They're not so little anymore. They perched on child-sized chairs pulled up to a low table and looked around the room. They remembered the citizenship poster displaying gold, stick-on stars beside the students' names. They recalled science fair projects, the Halloween parties and endless book reports.

It was all part of their education at Henry that they said contributed to their successful academic careers. Those roots are deep for each of them.

This month, Samir Shehab and Zachary Filip are graduating from the University of Arizona Medical School. Their classmate, John Paul Lemos, is graduating from the University of Washington Medical School. And next spring, Greg Walker will follow them as a UA medical school graduate.

Lemos was the only one who couldn't make it to the impromptu Henry school reunion. But the others visited with Judy Thompson, who retires this year, and Sheila Peress, who has retired, but tutors at Henry.

Thompson said, "We couldn't believe how amazing these kids were. They were phenomenal and they haven't disappointed us."

Peress, who taught several of the boys in fifth grade, called Filip one of the "Greenpeace Generation" kids who wanted to fix the world. "This is a great year in school when kids aren't so egocentric," she said.

The grown-up students speculated that Henry's science fairs sparked their interest in medicine. Filip remembered his fifth-grade project showing that plants planted with chopped up plastic garbage bags seemed to do really well. And the memory of dissecting a cow's eye in the fourth grade came back to him, too.

Walker remembers handling a human brain when a doctor from the university visited with the specimen. "It felt like thick Jell-O," he remembered.

Shehab's memories turned to Henry's focus on reading. "When I thought of how I got to this point, I think it was my first years at Henry that put me on the right path," he said. "If you can't read well or write well, you can't do medical school. Reading affects everything. If you can't read, you can't do science."

Walker took that a step further, saying, "It's amazing that so much is focused on in this school. It's the interpersonal relationship, the holistic teaching that's done here."

The group agreed that the close-knit community around the school envelopes students, giving them the encouragement and support they need to succeed beyond the schoolroom doors.

They're all moving on this year to different cities and careers. Shehab will travel to Portland, Ore., where he'll study pediatrics at the Oregon Health and Science University. Lemos will be in emergency room care in Atlanta, and Filip will settle in East Los Angeles, where he will work in plastic surgery reconstruction at the Loma Linda Medical Center.

Walker is finishing a research fellowship in Washington, D.C., and will go into pediatrics after he graduates next year.

Even though they have successful academic careers behind them, Peress still holds out another challenge for Filip, who as the Henry Student Council president was nicknamed "Mr. Personality." She's earmarked him as the first doctor who will be the president of the United States.

With this group of high achievers, that's entirely possible.

-- By Sharon Dunham
Communications & Media Relations

Photos in the May issue by Jes Ruvalcaba of Communications & Media Relations, unless otherwise noted.

The deadline to submit material for the June Focus is Friday, June 13. The Focus will be published Monday, June 23. Email submissions to Chyrl Hill Lander or Sharon Dunham in the Communications & Media Relations Department or use the online Tip Sheet.