AHEC scholars recognized at the AHEC completion ceremony
On Friday, April 26, the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) congratulated 56 graduates of the AHEC Scholars Program, a program for distinguished undergraduate students completing a minimum of 80 hours of highly engaging activities and 80 hours of community-based experiential training.
The AHEC Scholar Program is designed to supplement existing student coursework for exploration in an interprofessional team-based education for both urban and rural populations in underserved communities. Topics explored are behavioral health, cultural competency, interprofessional education, practice transformation, social determinants of health and current and emerging health issues to enhance access to quality health care in our communities.
During the Completion Ceremony, each scholar received a certificate of completion and a personal letter from the president of the National AHEC Organization. One scholar from each AHEC Center — Antoinette Cirino, Lana Ulrich, Audrey Badza, and Olivia Knauf — had the opportunity to share their experiences with the audience. Many spoke about the challenges they faced in their lives and how the program had helped them overcome those obstacles and move toward a brighter future.
Out of those scholars completing the AHEC Scholars Program, these students are to matriculate to NEOMED this July: Layali Kusini, Emma Dang, Jeremy Dang, Yara Habo, Sara Khan, Adil Nusair, Sanat Subhash, Adeline Whaley, and Saad Bin Yousuf.
In addition, honor awards were presented to the following students:
AHEC Scholars of the Year: Beatrice Akinditan, Audrey Badza, Antoinette Cirino, Ryan Hunyadi, Adam Kalish, Olivia Knauf, Elizabeth Marhefka, Andrew Miller, Lana Tso, Lana Ulrich, and Saad Bin Yousuf.
Overall, the completion ceremony was a testament to the power of education and community support in helping individuals achieve their goals and improve their lives.
"This program is a shining example of what we can accomplish when we come together to support one another," said Patricia Thornborough, regional director of Northeast Ohio AHEC. "I'm proud of each and every one of our scholars and wish them all the best as they start a new chapter in their lives."
Read more about the AHEC Scholars Program.
“This program is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of an award totaling $47 million with an additional 100% percentage financed with nongovernmental sources. The contents are those are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.” For more information, visit, HRSA.gov.