Olivia Giambra, a student in the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine’s (WVSOM) Class of 2024, has been elected to the school’s Board of Governors.
The WVSOM Board of Governors oversees the financial, business and educational policies under which the state’s largest medical school operates. It consists of nine members appointed by the governor of West Virginia and three elected representatives, one each from the school’s faculty, staff and student body.
Giambra, originally from Scranton, Pa., received a Bachelor of Science degree in nutritional physiology and biochemistry from Penn State University in 2019. While earning her degree, she competed for four years as a Division 1 athlete on the university’s track and field team.
Prior to joining the WVSOM Board of Governors, she served as historian for the Student Government Association and as a representative on the school’s curriculum committee, where she worked with faculty to provide student input on curricular matters and ensured that Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation standards were met.
Giambra said she has long had an interest in the academic side of medicine and hopes to serve as a bridge between the student body and administration during her Board of Governors term.
“As the student representative, I hope to increase my understanding of how policy and change are made at WVSOM while providing ideas from a student perspective on how we can improve,” Giambra said. “I’m excited to be surrounded by leaders and experts in their respective fields, and I hope to address gaps in my leadership knowledge through advice from current board members and administration so that I, too, can learn and grow.”