Jennifer Lee, OMS II at Midwestern University-AZCOM Awarded $7,500 Founders' Scholarship
February 24, 2021
Jennifer Lee is an osteopathic medical student who is committed to her studies, demonstrates compassion and empathy, and has a desire to give back to the community. She attended Midwestern University for her master's degree, and finished in the top twenty-five percent of the class. Currently a second-year osteopathic medical student who finished in the top thirty-five percent of her class upon completion of first year, she has the desire to continue to improve her grades through the remainder of didactic. In addition to working hard academically, Jennifer is also a student leader in outreach efforts through her work as President of the Health Outreach through Medicine and Education (H.O.M.E.) organization where she works directly with Midwestern faculty and the student body to organize and run free weekly healthcare clinics at the homeless shelters in Phoenix, Arizona. Student Doctor Lee is also an AZCOM class of 2023 student representative on the Diversity and Inclusion Outreach Taskforce who works with Midwestern faculty, administration, and fellow students to ensure they are striving for equity for all medical students and future patients. She was honored to be selected as the National Liaison for the Emergency Medicine Board where she has been able to engage with medical schools across the country. These positions have allowed Jennifer to pursue her passion of advocating for underserved communities while also striving to embrace those qualities in her future practice as a physician.
Maxwell M. Crow, OMS III at Midwestern University-AZCOM Awarded $5,000 Founders' Scholarship
February 24, 2021
Student Doctor Crow was born and raised in Grosse Pointe, Michigan and attended the University of Michigan. He grew up loving to play ice hockey and skiing, both of which he continues to do today. At Midwestern University Maxwell was awarded the Kenneth A. Suarez Research Scholarship and was lucky enough to be a part of Dr. Ashlesh Murthy's team studying the infectious process of Chlamydia. Outside of the classroom, he has been a writer for the campus newsletter, The Pulse, for the last two years and joined his Class Council as the liaison for the Tucson rotation cohort last year.
Joshua Bellisario, OMS III at A.T. Still University-SOMA Awarded $5,000 Founders' Scholarship
February 24, 2021
From the beginning of his medical education, Student Doctor Bellisario has been cultivating his professional profile through improving his academic performance, taking on leadership roles, and pursuing additional projects. Since beginning clinical rotations, he has consistently received excellent evaluations from preceptors, earning honors in both pediatrics and dermatology, and scoring honors on the pediatric COMAT examination. Because of Joshua’s interest in obstetrics and gynecology, he was able to do a case presentation on a high-risk obstetric patient in conjunction with University of Arizona- Phoenix at the Arizona Osteopathic Medical Association's annual convention in April 2020. He also attended the American College of Osteopathic Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Advances in Women's Health Fall 2020 conference. This past September, Joshua helped to present his class's public health research project at the Community Health Institute's virtual convection in which they addressed barriers to colon cancer screening follow-up within the El Rio community. In the future, he hope to be involved with other projects regarding quality improvement with El Rio. Additionally, he is a student ambassador for ATSU-SOMA, acting as a liaison for prospective and incoming students, as well as a mentor to underclassmen in the school's "Big Sib/Little Sib" program.
Samuel Diaz, OMS III at Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine Awarded $7,500 Founders' Scholarship
February 24, 2021
Student Doctor Diaz focused on sports and friends throughout high school and on work and survival during his undergraduate education. When he started taking the 'hard' classes, he felt like he was scrambling to keep up with work and school and was not able to truly focus on learning. After graduating with his bachelor's degree he began to focus on work. Samuel has always known the value of hard work, and this showed in his professional accomplishment of being promoted from a patient care technician to Materials Manager of several pain management facilities within one year. During this time, he took prerequisites for medical school and began to believe that he was capable of more than he had previously thought. Samuel worked full-time for several years before taking a chance on a new post-baccalaureate program through Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine. It was then that he focused on his studies and obtained the GPA necessary to be accepted into their medical program. During his first year as a medical student he obtained honors in ten academic blocks and by the end of second year, was in the top quartile of his class. Student Doctor Diaz is a professional member of SNMA and Sigma Sigma Phi (SSP) and was an executive treasurer for SSP in his second year. In his third year he is balancing clinical rotations with study time for shelf and board exams, as well as volunteering all the while enjoying being back in his home state of beautiful and sunny Arizona.
Valley Assistantce Services Awarded TNT Grant
December 18, 2020
Valley Assistance Services has been awarded a $5,000 Thriving Nonprofit Technology Grant from TOMF! In these unprecedented times where some of their services have seen increased need of 1000% and traditional fundraising methods are severely limited, this nonprofit plans to use the funds in all facets of their business. They plan to purchase technology to help with general operations, virtual fundraising activities, and the many services they provide to help seniors in southern Arizona stay safe, healthy, and independent.
Community Gardens of Tucson Benefits from TNT Grant
December 18, 2020
Our final TNT Grant winner is Community Gardens of Tucson! They have been awarded $4,915 to outfit their gardens with high tech weather stations and bluetooth irrigation systems, and outfit their office with new computers, tablets, cameras, microphones, lighting and donor management/fundraising software. We thank them for their continued service to southern Arizona as they remain a contemporary and vital resource so that growing fresh nutritious and healthy food will be an option for all. Congratulations, Community Gardens of Tucson!
Congratulations Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson!
December 14, 2020
Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson were awarded a $5,000 Thriving Nonprofit Technology Grant! They plan to use the funds to outfit two of their clubhouses with technology like smartwatches and iPads to empower their youth to stay fit through competitive physical activity challenges. Congratulations!
TOMF Announces First Thriving Nonprofit Technology Grant Winner!
December 9, 2020
TOMF is proud to announce the first winner of the Thriving Nonprofit Technology Grants! St. Luke's Home has been awarded $5,000 which they will use to purchase tablets for approximately one third of their elders. The tablets will allow for increased access to telemedicine visits, video calls with family and friends, and a continued partnership between the elders and University of Arizona students in medicine, nutrition, pharmacy, and nursing.
Aubrey Ingram, OMS II at Midwestern University - AZCOM, Awarded $7,500 Founders' Scholarship
March 4, 2020
Aubrey Ingram is a second year medical student at the Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine (AZCOM) of Midwestern University. Student Doctor Ingram matriculated to medical school directly from her undergraduate studies at Grand Canyon University. There, she completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology with a minor study in Dance Performance. Now at AZCOM, Aubrey serves as the Student Government Association President, as well as the Arizona Student Delegate for the American Osteopathic Association’s House of Delegates, Council Member for the Council of Osteopathic Student Government Presidents and member of the Arizona Osteopathic Medical Association’s Legislative Affairs Committee. As a born and raised Phoenician, she is proud to remain in Arizona for her medical education and hopes to serve Arizonans as a physician in the near future.
Chandresh Nandani, OMS III at Midwestern University - AZCOM, Awarded $5,000 Founders' Scholarship
March 4, 2020
I have the conviction that a group of people working towards the same goal is capable of almost anything. Teamwork fuels medicine and seeing just how much physicians can contribute has been the driving force behind all my endeavors in medical school. As a TA throughout OMS2 for Anatomy and Physiology, we had the change to aid our peers’ academics, but more importantly ease their concerns and give advice for moving through school. My forebears did the same for me and this was my chance to provide the type of mentorship that was crucial to me; we are at our best when we are lifting each other up. As president of the Gay Straight Alliance, I provide LGBT+ students with a sense of belonging and social support amidst the greater campus community. Furthermore, we changed the clinical curriculum, provided HIV testing, and facilitated workshops to improve the care of future LGBT+ patients and strengthened the physicians produced by AZCOM. On a greater scale, I was an active part of the AOMA Legislative Affairs committee and advocated for physicians and patients on a legislative level. This was the culmination of physicians being united to improve the circumstances we all face. I continue to try and make the communities I am a part of stronger in countless facets of my life. My instinct to offer a helping hand has guided me throughout my academic career and will continue to push me as a physician.
Elysia Tjong, OMS III at A.T. Still Univeristy - SOMA, Awarded $5,000 Founders' Scholarship
March 4, 2020
Elysia Tjong was born and raised in Reno, Nevada. She studied neuroscience at the University of Nevada, Reno. She was involved in lab research all four years, and presented three posters and an honors thesis in pharmacology. After graduation, she worked as a clinical research associate at Renown Institute for Neurosciences and also as a Scribe Supervisor at Renown Emergency Department. Since being at A.T. Still University – School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona, Elysia has won first place at the school’s Interprofessional Cross-Campus Collaborative Case and was also a part of the Arizona Osteopathic Medical Association Student-Run Osteopathic Community Project Planning Committee, where their project, “Doctors that DO Wellness Pop-Up Exhibit Program” won the Arizona Public Health Association (AzPHA) Health Education Media Maker Yearly Award in 2018. She has continued her interest in research by serving as the Co-Principal Investigator in a research project, which was selected for poster presentation at the National Association of Community Health Centers Community Health Institute & EXPO in August 2019. Elysia has also published several case reports, and plans on being involved in research after she graduates.
Salil Kalarn, OMS III at A.T. Still University - SOMA, Awarded $7,500 Founders' Scholarship
March 4, 2020
Salil Kalarn attended the University of Arizona for undergraduate education where he double-majored in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He then pursued a master’s degree in Cellular and Molecular Medicine. During his time at University of Arizona, Salil was involved in Oncology research for four years and published two research articles in the field of Oncology. In addition, he participated and organized a public health mission within Tucson and in Central America as a member of Global Medical Brigades. Currently, Salil is pursuing a Doctorate in Osteopathic Medicine from AT Still University. During his first year at A.T. Still University, he was a team leader for the Nutrition and Health Awareness program which is a research and community service program developed by A.T. Still students to provide education to middle school children about nutrition and health. In addition, Salil went to the University of Maryland during summer break to conduct Ophthalmology research and to organize multiple free clinics in downtown Baltimore. In his second year, Salil was an active student tutor as a member of the PALS program and conducted clinical research at the Tucson CHC. This clinical research was accepted to the El Rio/Wright center poster presentation in Tucson Community Health Institute poster presentation in Chicago and published in the Journal for Student Research.