Tamaqua Area High School junior Lottie Mateyak loves science classes and aspires to someday be a medical scientist.

This summer, she’ll travel to Penn State to spend a week learning more about her chosen field, thanks to the Tamaqua Blue Raider Foundation and St. Luke’s Miners Campus.

Mateyak will have an opportunity to get hands-on experience with cadavers and dissecting animal tissue at Penn State’s first ever Pre-Med Academy in late July.

“I’ve always really liked helping people and the medical field, and I think this is the best way to do it,” she said.

The Blue Raider Foundation has for several years funded scholarships for students pursuing a wide range of careers, including nursing, engineering and journalism.

“This is what can happen when local organizations work together,” said the foundation’s Walter Kruczek.

When Penn State announced the pre-med camp, Kruczek and fellow board member Tom Berger contacted the college to see if they would reserve a spot for a Tamaqua student.

Kruczek said Penn State was excited to include students from rural Pennsylvania in the academy.

“They said ‘that sounds like the perfect place we want to get a student from. We don’t want everybody from suburban Philadelphia or suburban New York, we want people from rural areas,’” Kruczek recalled.

With a spot secured, the board had Tamaqua Area High School identify a student. They opened it to all juniors at the high school.

Superintendent Raymond Kinder said there were many good applicants, but Mateyak was the best fit.

“We’re happy to be able to have Lottie represent the district every day — the things she does around the building, all of our activities, as well as her classes and during the summer at camp,” he said.

Mateyak heard about the opportunity in her chemistry class. It was open to all high school juniors at Tamaqua Area High School.

She jumped at the chance to learn more about the field she hopes to someday pursue.

Mateyak said she’s feeling a mix of nerves and excitement as she prepares for the camp. She’s especially excited to get to interact with students who aspire to the same goals she does.

“It’s definitely an experience I’ll be able to pull from for the rest of my career,” she said.

Of course it may not have happened if not for St. Luke’s Miners Campus stepping up to fund her tuition to academy, which costs over $800.

Miners Campus President Wendy Lazo said the health network has a long history of supporting education, and they were happy to continue that by supporting a Tamaqua student.

She said she hopes that Lottie’s career eventually brings her back to the area.

“It was very exciting for us to provide this opportunity for someone so deserving,” she said.