Recognizing campus leaders at awards ceremony

Within the halls of NEOMED, where knowledge intertwines with compassion, and innovation meets dedication, there exists a vibrant culture of leadership that propels the future of health care. At the heart of this lies our students, the aspiring health care professionals embarking on a journey of transformative learning and service.

We honored these students at the 8th Annual Campus Leadership Awards Ceremony, hosted by the Office of Student Services on Tuesday, April 16. The awards recognize students and campus advisors for their co-curricular achievements and transformational leadership in service outside of the classroom. They exemplify the essence of leadership – inspiring, innovating and igniting change. From outstanding academic achievements to visionary initiatives in community outreach, each award serves as a testament to the multifaceted nature of leadership at NEOMED.

This year, the Office of Student Services and the Department of Family & Community Medicine combined their award ceremonies, with the goal to streamline award ceremonies in the future.

The awards and their recipients are:

Awards presented by The Office of Student Services

• Medicine Peer Tutor of the Year Award: Nathan Ryan
• Pharmacy Peer Tutor of the Year Award: Olivia King
• Ethical Student Leader Award: Kaitlyn Myk-Kish
• Outstanding Advisor Award: Fayez Safadi, Ph.D.
• Diversity Student Organization of the Year Award: American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI)
• New Student Organization of the Year: NEOMED Alliance for Disability Inclusion and Advocacy (NADIA)
• Student Organization of the Year: Kappa Psi Pharmaceutical Fraternity, Inc.
• Outstanding Student Leader Award: Rayhan Asif

Awards presented by the College of Graduate Studies

• College of Graduate Studies Dean’s Award: Enkhjin Enkhsaikhan

Awards presented by the Department of Family & Community Medicine

• Area Health Education Center Student Service Award (M2): Natasha Salmen
• John P. Schlemmer, M.D., Memorial Family Medicine Award (M4): Kailey Christman
• Ross R. Black II, M.D., Endowed Family Medicine Scholarship Award (M4): Kailey Christman and Olivia Safady
• Ross R. Black II, M.D., Endowed Family Medicine Scholarship Award (M3): Aidan Coggeshall and Megan Fainer
• Ross R. Black II, M.D., Endowed Family Medicine Scholarship Award (M1): Emmanuella Adjei
• Outstanding Student in Geriatrics Award: Rachel Krevh and Roshni Wani
• Outstanding Student in Palliative Care Award: Olivia Safady

Tori Carpenter, coordinator in the Office of Student Services, shared the following statistics for the 2023-2024 academic year:

• 87 student organizations
• 711 in-person and virtual events
• Nearly 50 community service projects
• More than 686 community service hours reported

Dyann Whaley, associate director of the Learning Center, also shared highlights from the past year. She said 67 medicine students and 43 pharmacy students provided peer tutoring to 443 of their peers. Those tutors provided tutor support for a total of 4,233 tutoring hours.

Congratulations to all recipients, as well as all of those nominated!