Graduate student receives Rural Health Student Award

Loida Tamayo, a graduate student at the Texas A&M Health Science Center (TAMHSC) School of Rural Public Health in McAllen, received the Texas Rural Health Association (TRHA) 2012 Rural Health Student Award. She was presented with the award at an Oct. 30 awards luncheon during the TRHA Conference in San Marcos.

“The School of Rural Public Health has prepared me to become a compassionate but competitive professional,” Tamayo said. “We have the most amazing faculty and staff that care for their students. I have learned and experienced so much that has helped me reaffirm my passion for improving the health of rural communities.”

Tamayo’s research poster, “Health Networks for Rural Communities,” was the only graduate student poster presented at the conference. It placed second in the statewide research poster competition for health care professionals.

Tamayo recently completed her practicum at the Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Rural Health Policy in the Washington, D.C., area. She hopes to continue working in a rural community to increase public health through program development and policy implementation.