ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Two students from the University at Albany were selected to participate in the inaugural class of SUNY’s Pre-Med Opportunity Program.

Twenty-five students from 10 SUNY schools were chosen for the program. Catherine Pierre and Rosmery Reyes were chosen from UAlbany. Both will be studying Medicine.

All 25 students will receive academic support while pursuing medicine, optometry, physical therapy, or physician assistant programs.

The Pre-Med Opportunity Program was created to help undergraduate students from low-income backgrounds get into and succeed in medical schools.

The program will take place at SUNY Upstate Medical University from July 18-22 and will include clinical exposure through the simulation labs at Upstate, as well as workshops, skill development, and academic programming. Students will also receive remote instruction to prepare them for medical school prerequisite courses—organic chemistry, physics, and microbiology—that they will take during the Fall 2021 semester.

SUNY will cover all costs, including transportation, room, board, and instruction.