STUDENT ACCOLADES

Junior Lilian Mai has been selected as an ambassador for the Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP), an enrichment program focused on improving access to information and resources for college students interested in pursuing the health professions. Mai, a biology major on a pre-medical track with a chemistry minor, was a medical scholar and intern during the summer of 2021 in the

SHPEP program at the University of Nebraska and liked it so much she applied to become an ambassador. At the University of Nebraska, she took part in science and math enrichment, clinicals, career development and other seminars. She presented her public health research project, “Scotts Bluff County on Obesity.” Mai appreciated networking with medical school faculty, advisors and 79 other students in her cohort. She is happy to be recruiting “brilliant” health care students for SHPEP. “As president of the Health Profession Club, I made it one of my goals to recruit students in the club and at other institutions because I want every student to experience this wonderful program SHPEP has to offer. Once you become an alumni, you are a part of the school community.” SHPEP is part of an effort by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Senior Yaman Thapa received an award from the annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students. Thapa, a chemistry major with a neuroscience minor, won a presentation award in the biochemistry and molecular biology category after presenting an e-poster and video based on her internship at the Bernard S. and Sophie G. Gould MIT Summer Research Program in Biology last summer. The conference is one of the largest communities of underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Students attend the event to present their research, build professional development skills, look at graduate schools and network. Thapa is delighted she could invite Natural Science Department professors Dr. Darryl Aucoin, Dr. Agnes Berki, Dr. Xiaolei Gao and Dr. Marjorie Squires to attend the presentation and award ceremony, and she is grateful to Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Peter Ubertaccio and Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Ellina Chernobilsky for their support.

Art therapy student Anne Ilardi and nursing student Asia Batchelor were awarded scholarships from the nonprofit organization Women, Words and Wisdom, which holds issues panel discussions for women, awards two education scholarships yearly and was founded by adult business student Jo-Ann Weiner. The nonprofit awarded gift cards to five other students—Christine Millien, Suzanne M. Bilicska, Viviana Zeballos, Maranda Frank and Emma DeLeon—for their excellent entries. The students were asked to write an essay for National Women’s History Month on “Valiant Women of the Vote: Refusing to Be Silenced.” “Caldwell University is grateful to Jo-Ann for her organization’s generous support of women’s education,” said Virginia H. Rich, J.D., associate dean of the School of Business and Computer Science.

The Caldwell University Marching Band, under the direction of Professor Rebecca Vega and drum majors Amanda DeForne and Alicia Santamaria, performed at the Vivace Collegiate Festival on Oct. 3

along with 19 other universities. The band performed its show “Keep It Movin’,” which opened with Earth, Wind and Fire’s “September.” The color guard was featured in Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca,” followed by the crowd-pleasing “We Will Rock You” and the concluding performance of “Don’t Stop Me Now.”

Caldwell Academics