More than 400 students and their parents from Po- out the region delved into the world of forensics and infectious diseases, explored an anatomy lab and learned investigative procedures from the Pomona Police Department as part of the Pomona Health Career Ladder, a pipeline that fosters Pomona youths’ education and aspirations to become medical and health care professionals.

Now in its sixth year, the Pomona Health Career Ladder is a partnership between PUSD, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Fullerton and Western University of Health Sciences, which hosts monthly Saturday academies for sixththrough 12th-grade Pomona The “Forensic Science and Infectious Disease” Saturday workshop provided middle school students the opportunity to learn investigative procedures from WesternU health professions students, while high school students explored real medical specimens in guided interactions.

To wrap up the academy, all students learned about real-life crime scene investigation from the Pomona Police Department as they toured the Pomona CSI vehicle.

According to WesternU’s Research & Effectiveness, students who attend Health Career Ladder-sponsored better school attendance, achieve higher scores on state standardized tests in English language arts and math and earn higher GPAs compared with their peers.

With WesternU students serving as mentors and role models, the young medical scholars are able to develop a passion for science and health and learn about prospective careers, said Superintendent Richard Martinez.

“Through this pioneering partnership, we have been able to provide our students with engaging and academically stimulating programs that encourage their pursuit of higher education and allow them to explore the possibilities,” Martinez said. “It is my hope that these students, no matter what careers they choose, will return to invest in the Pomona community and be a voice for PUSD.”