The UNMC College of Medicine has selected 12 students from the class of 2025 as recipients of the Service-Learning Leadership and Community Engagement Awards.
Curriculum Committee Chair Abbey Fingeret, MD, and Vice Chair Keely Cassidy, PhD, extended congratulations on behalf of the college to the students for their achievement.
The Service-Learning Leadership Award is presented to individuals who exhibit outstanding civic commitment, community awareness and personal development. Awardees demonstrate incorporation of their experiences into their personal goals, perspectives and values. The recipients of this award are:
- Molly Antonson
- Aurora DePalma
- Kim Nguyen
- Jacob Owens
- Max Regester
- Currey Zalman
The Service-Learning Community Engagement Award is presented to individuals who exhibit active leadership in service learning with clear vision, innovation and creativity. Awardees demonstrate strong initiative with a clear impact, motivate others and demonstrate a high standard of integrity. The recipients of this award are:
- Sophie Gart
- Grace Kelly
- Joe Kleinsmith
- Emma Poulas
- Katie Weaver
- Andrew White
Typical accolades from nominators included statements such as:
“This is a superb candidate to receive the Service Learning Award to support their efforts to continually bring health care to the underserved in our community, to identify and evaluate new effective measures to bring the care to more individuals and improve the level of care received and to go the extra step in then providing the lessons learned and best practices to a regional and national audience who care further benefit from their work.”
“The YMCA is incredibly grateful for the time the student has and continues to invest in their community. There is no doubt how hard working and dedicated they are to their many goals academically, and otherwise. I truly admire how they make the members of the community feel seen, heard and uplifted.”
“The student has shown a remarkable ability to balance their academic responsibilities with their commitment to community engagement, setting an exceedingly high bar for other students to follow in terms of leadership in service-learning. It has been a privilege to work with the student and witness their growth as a leader. Their contributions have made a significant difference in the lives and health of many young people in our community, and I am confident that they will continue to educate, inspire, and lead others in their future endeavors.”
“They are demonstrating sustained, visionary, and precocious leadership as a champion in community engagement and service-learning leadership. As their faculty adviser, I have personally seen their teamwork and vision in action, elevating the level of peers and engaging diverse partners. They are thoughtful about identifying gaps in partnership with members of the community, respecting their lived experience, while leaning on their experience in poverty studies and community engagement to co-develop solutions to urgent health problems.”
The selection committee said it was impressed by the students’ applications and dedication to service-learning, adding that the students hard work, passion and perseverance has not only inspired the college of medicine but has also made a positive difference in the future of medicine.