Durham, NC - In the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin verdict this past weekend, ABC News Anchor Ron Claiborne led a discussion about the case with a packed house of students, who shared their opinions and stories of their own experiences with racism.

The students were participating in Duke medical school's Summer Medical and Dental Education Program (SMDEP), asix-week program of intensive academic preparation for the pre-health sciences for freshman and sophomore college students who are interested in medical and dental school. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation sponsors the national program.

At Monday's meeting in the Learning Hall of the Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans Center, more than 70 students -- black, white, Latino, Native American, and those with immigrant parents -- answered Claiborne's question of "Does race still matter?"

"I have been stopped and frisked," said another student. "My strategy was to be polite and friendly. I am just one man, so the only the thing I can do is to not perpetuate the negative stereotypes."

Some scholars expressed hope; one said, "Unfortunately, I feel like race still is a factor, but I maintain that it is changing."

The students also acknowledged that it is their job to lead by example.

"My family looks to me to be the first person to go out and reach for stars," said a young woman who is a first generation college student.

"Growing up as a scholar, I want to make sure I am taken seriously," stated another young man.

The Summer Medical and Dental Education Program at Duke University Medical School is a pipeline program and one of 12 sites nationally. Scholars from SMDEP prepare for enrollment in medical schools, including Duke University School of Medicine, and to PhD programs, nursing schools, MPH programs, and other health professions schools.

Nationally and at Duke, 65 percent of participants in SMDEP go on to medical or dental school. For all but one of the past twelve years, the School of Medicine has enrolled someone from SMDEP at Duke. The Physician Assistant Program, the Global Health Institute, and the Nursing School have also matriculated SMDEP at Duke alumni.

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ABC News Anchor Discusses Martin Verdict with Students at Duke Medical Program