LEWISBURG, W.Va. – West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) students in the Class of 2020 were recognized for their achievements in medical school during a virtual Graduation Awards Ceremony on May 29. Graduation awards totaled $37,200.
This year’s class consisted of 188 graduates, with 126 graduates entering primary care residency programs and a 99 percent residency match rate for the class.
The event recognized 19 students who graduated with honors. In addition, 27 students were recognized as members of Psi Sigma Alpha, a national osteopathic scholastic honor society. Eight students were recognized with the American Medical Women’s Association Glasgow-Rubin Citation for Academic Achievement. Forty students received cords reflecting their membership in Sigma Sigma Phi, a national osteopathic medicine fraternity that supports medical scholastic excellence. Ten graduates were recognized with special coins for their military service.
The WVSOM Alumni Association Roland P. Sharp Graduate Award was created to honor the values of WVSOM’s first president. The award honors a graduating student who exemplifies Dr. Sharp’s vision of holistic care and service. The WVSOM Alumni Association selected Alexandria Carter as this year’s winner.
The Olen E. Jones WVSOM Foundation Academic Achievement Award is presented to a student graduating in the top 10 percent of the class. The WVSOM Foundation Board of Directors selected Lauren Fravor as this year’s winner.
Amina Hamza received the Opal Price Sharp Memorial Award for dedication to osteopathic medicine.
The Student D.O. of the Year acknowledges a student’s commitment to his or her school, community and the osteopathic profession. This year’s recipient was Emmanuel Dimitri Foko Tito.
The Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield West Virginia Farson-Smith-Earley Award is presented to a fourth-year student who has matched to a West Virginia primary care residency with the intent to practice in a rural area. This year’s recipient was Evan Muscari.
The Donald Newell Sr. Memorial Award for Outstanding Graduating Senior is presented to a graduating student who, in the opinion of his and her classmates, best exemplifies the qualities of scholarship, osteopathic professional interest, leadership and citizenship. This year’s recipient was Emmanuel Dimitri Foko Tito.
The Gwen Clingman Memorial Scholarship is presented to a student who has demonstrated a commitment to community service throughout his or her time in medical school. Amina Hamza was recognized with the scholarship.
The John and Nancy Chambers Memorial Scholarship is given to a student who intends to practice medicine in an underserved community and whose academic performance was strong. The scholarship honors two former WVSOM professors. This year’s recipient was Devin Welsh.
The Olivia Claire Obrokta Pediatric Award recognizes a student who is committed to serving in a pediatric specialty. Deena Obrokta, D.O., Class of 1994, formed the award after losing her granddaughter after only a couple of months. This year’s recipient was JessieAnn Flowers.
The Dr. Catherine A. Bishop Scholarship Award recognizes a fourth-year student committed to a residency program in West Virginia. This year’s recipient was Langley Regester.
The David Hinchman, D.O., Emergency Medicine Scholarship was formed by Brant Hinchman, D.O., Class of 2012, to honor his retired father, from WVSOM’s Class of 1982, and others who have helped medical students become emergency medicine physicians. The scholarship is given to a graduating student who intends to enter an emergency medicine residency, and this year is in memory of Dr. Dennis Small. This year’s recipient was Chizite Iheonunekwu.
The Stephanie Dawn Barragy Memorial Scholarship was formed to honor Charles and Jean Cornell’s daughter, who was a victim of suicide. The scholarship recognizes a student committed to working on behalf of mental health issues, with a focus on patient care and intervention. Dallas Marsh was this year’s scholarship recipient.
The Dr. William R. Holmes Scholarship is awarded to a student who has shown determination, persistence and commitment in pursuing a medical education. This year’s scholarship was presented to Raymond Dobson.
The MSOPTI Rural Scholar program aims to increase the likelihood that students from West Virginia medical schools will self-select residency programs located in the state, establish a relationship in the community and commit to practice medicine in that area. MSOPTI, in partnership with the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, provided awards to two graduating students who have been accepted into MSOPTI residency training programs in the state. This year’s scholarship recipients were Thu Nguyen and Madison Chase McCreary.
The U.S. Public Health Service Excellence in Public Health Award is given to a student who has developed and implemented a program advancing the overarching goals and achieving the objectives of Healthy People 2020. The student must also have developed and implemented a program that addresses the priorities of the National Prevention Strategy. This year’s recipient was Emmanuel Dimitri Foko Tito.
The West Virginia Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians Award was presented to Gurmaninder Singh. Each year the organization recognizes one student from each of the three medical schools in West Virginia whose performance in clinical rotations reflects an understanding and commitment to the delivery of emergency care.
WVSOM’s Rural Health Initiative (RHI) recognized 11 graduates who participated in the program. The RHI program is designed to enhance the rural primary care curriculum at WVSOM and produce graduates uniquely qualified to practice medicine in underserved communities in rural West Virginia. Those recognized were Allison Collier, Joshua Ennis, Joshua Fleming, Emmanuel Dimitri Foko Tito, Kelsey Full, Madonna Gribble, Adrian Hackney, Carly Heatherly, Hannah King, Langley Regester and Kelsey Scott.
Two students from each of the seven Statewide Campus regions received awards for their third- and fourth-year clinical rotations. Lucy Chisler and Raymond Dobson received recognition for the Northern region; Nicholas Bowers and Lillian Harry received recognition for the Eastern region; Natalie Osiecki and Lauren Searls received recognition for the Central East region; Lauren Burton and Lisa Hall received recognition for the Central West region; Lauren Fravor and Jason Gilbert received recognition for the South East region; Samantha Nibert and Devin Welsh received recognition for the South Central region; and Alexis Borden and Jacob Helsel received recognition for the South West region.
The Order of the Vesalius Award is presented to students who have served as graduate teaching assistants in the biomedical sciences department. Adam Goodcoff and Lindsey Kent were presented with this year’s awards.
Crissandra Digges and Monika Marcinkevicius were honored with the RAMS Head Award. The award is given to students who served as graduate teaching assistants in the osteopathic medical education department.
The Clinical Sciences Award, which recognizes a student who served as a graduate teaching assistant in a clinical sciences or family medicine capacity, was awarded to Lauren Burton.
The Merck Manual Award for Academic Excellence is presented to the top two female and top two male students based on grade point average in their class. The awards went to Lauren Fravor, Erika Michelin, Nicholas Bowers and Austin Patterson.
The Donna Jones Moritsugu Award recognizes an osteopathic medical student’s spouse or partner. The recipient exemplifies the role of a professional’s partner in providing support to their family and the osteopathic profession. This year’s recipient was Shishira Nanjangud Sreenivas, spouse of Sahil Parag.