Each year, as they prepare for commencement and the next step in residency training, the medical school officially welcomes our fourth-year students as WMed alumni and honors the top students from the graduating class during the annual Awards and Alumni Banquet. Faculty are also recognized during the event and honored with awards that are chosen by the students.
The Awards and Alumni Banquet for students in the Class of 2019 was held on Thursday, May 2, 2019, at the CityScape Events Center in downtown Kalamazoo.
Commendations
To graduate, students must successfully demonstrate skills in scholarship, quality improvement, active citizenship in community health, and teaching through work that is integrated as part of the medical school curriculum. Students who choose to pursue additional, optional activities in these four areas are awarded recognition of achieving these skills with commendation.
- Quality Improvement with Commendation
Michael Behun
Class of 2018Serena Chen
Class of 2018Amy Chonghasawat
Class of 2018Satya Dalavayi
Class of 2018 - Research with Commendation
Nicole Baker
Class of 2018Michael Behun
Class of 2018Heather Chen
Class of 2018Jacqueline Dauch
Class of 2018Grant Finlayson
Class of 2018Nicole Foley
Class of 2018Timothy Truong
Class of 2018Ana Villalobos Acosta
Class of 2018Timothy Wysozan
Class of 2018Eleanor Yu
Class of 2018
Outstanding Student Awards
Annually, each academic department at the medical school selects one or more outstanding students from the graduating class to be awarded on behalf of the department faculty.
- Department of Anesthesiology
Grant Finlayson
Class of 2018Sheila Sullivan
Class of 2018Michael Chavarria
Class of 2019Jeffrey Friedman
Class of 2019 - Department of Emergency Medicine
Jacob Brugger
Class of 2018Nathan Whelham
Class of 2019 - Department of Family and Community Medicine
Thu Nguyen
Class of 2018Jennifer Kim
Class of 2019 - Department of Medicine
Nicole Foley
Class of 2018Keegan Colletier
Class of 2019Amy Rechenberg
Class of 2019 - Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Samuel Yost
Class of 2018Claire Cameron-Ruetz
Class of 2019David Lee
Class of 2019 - Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
Michael Behun
Class of 2018Evan Kohler
Class of 2019 - Department of Pathology
Heather Chen
Class of 2018Timothy Wysozan
Class of 2018Melanie Bourgeau
Class of 2019 - Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine
Ana Villalobos Acosta
Class of 2018Garlen Yu
Class of 2018Kimberly Wells
Class of 2019Ai Yamasaki
Class of 2019 - Department of Psychiatry
Olivia Fournier
Class of 2018 - Department of Radiology
Eleanor Yu
Class of 2018Peter Hoeksema
Class of 2019Benjamin Roush
Class of 2019 - Department of Surgery
Peter White
Class of 2018Samuel Lai
Class of 2019
CLEAR Awards
Students in each graduating class slect one peer who exemplifies excellence in each area of the medical school's CLEAR mission: Clinician, Leader, Educator, Advocate, and Researcher.
- Clinician Award
Timothy Truong
Class of 2018Nicholas Sweda
Class of 2019 - Leader Award
Kevin Cates
Class of 2018Nathan Whelham
Class of 2019 - Educator Award
Arad Abadi
Class of 2018Neil Hughes
Class of 2019 - Advocate Award
Ana Villalobos Acosta
Class of 2018Grace Catherine-Parikh Walter
Class of 2019 - Researcher Award
Jacqueline Dauch
Class of 2018Samuel Lai
Class of 2019
Honor Society Inductees
- Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society
The Michigan Epsilon chapter of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society at WMed recognizes students who have shown dedication to academia, peer teaching, leadership, humanism, and service. Students become eligible for this honor in their third year, and are selected by faculty who are members of the society.
McKenzie Akers
Class of 2018Michael Behun
Class of 2018Nicole Foley
Class of 2018Ana Villalobos Acosta
Class of 2018Timothy Wysozan
Class of 2018Samuel Yost
Class of 2018Ashley Akkal
Class of 2019Jordan Fenlon
Class of 2019Tyler Gardner
Class of 2019Peter Hoeksema
Class of 2019Xavier Jean
Class of 2019Audrey Jensen
Class of 2019Evan Kohler
Class of 2019Beau Prey
Class of 2019Nathan Whelham
Class of 2019 - Gold Humanism Honor Society
We believe in the importance of developing humanistic future physicians who are dedicated to compassionate, respectful, and empathetic patient care. Students who have exhibited these characteristics while in medical school are inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. Students are nominated for this honor in their third year by their peers.
McKenzie Akers
Class of 2018Kevin Cates
Class of 2018Jacqueline Dauch
Class of 2018Tyler Harris
Class of 2018Ana Villalobos Acosta
Class of 2018Samuel Yost
Class of 2018Claire Cameron-Ruetz
Class of 2019Michael Chavarria
Class of 2019Brittany Chow
Class of 2019Neil Hughes
Class of 2019Audrey Jensen
Class of 2019Beth Kinsella
Class of 2019Nathan Whelham
Class of 2019Ai Yamasaki
Class of 2019
Scholarship Recipients
- Dean’s Endowed Scholarship
McKenzie Akers
Class of 2018Nathan Whelham
Class of 2019 - Peter H. Capelli Endowed Scholarship
Samuel Yost
Class of 2018Jordan Fenlon
Class of 2019Patrick Albright
Class of 2020 - James R. Ryan Family Foundation Endowed Scholarship
Samuel Yost
Class of 2018Tyler Gardner
Class of 2019 - F. Edward Hébert Armed Forces Health Professions (HPSP) Scholarship
Sarah Kemp
Class of 2019Beau Prey
Class of 2019
Faculty Awards
Prior to commencement, each graduating class presents awards to outstanding medical school faculty.
- Outstanding Basic Science Educator, Foundations of Medicine
Maria Sheakley, PhD
Presented by Class of 2018Timothy Bauler, PhD
Presented by Class of 2019David Riddle, PhD
Presented by Class of 2020 - Outstanding Clinical Science Educator, Foundations of Medicine
Joel Reinoehl, MD
Presented by Class of 2018Joel Reinoehl, MD
Presented by Class of 2019Lisa Miller, MD
Presented by Class of 2020 - Outstanding Clinical Science Educator, Clerkship Director
Melissa Olken, MD, PhD
Presented by Class of 2018Lisa Miller, MD
Presented by Class of 2019 - Outstanding Clinical Science Educator, Clinical Faculty
Anna Hoekstra, MD, MPH
Presented by Class of 2018Sheldon Maltz, MD
Presented by Class of 2019 - Outstanding Clinical Science Educator, Resident Physician
David Schutter, MD
Presented by Class of 2018Jairo Espinosa, MD
Presented by Class of 2019