Texas A&M College of Medicine announces gala scholarship recipients

A gala is usually a one-night celebration, but Texas A&M College of Medicine’s 40^th Anniversary Gala provided a reason to celebrate for years to come. Held on December 2, 2017, the gala’s donors and participants funded permanently endowed scholarships for students at the College of Medicine who make meaningful impact on patient populations across Texas and the nation.

The college recently announced the first four scholarship recipients: Yusuf Chauhan, Anthony Dolomisiewicz, Luis Seija and Courtney Welch.

Three recipients—Chauhan, Dolomisiewicz and Seija—received College of Medicine stipends from one permanently endowed scholarship established from proceeds of the gala totaling $115,000. These stipends were awarded to students in good standing with the college and selections were based on academic performance, extracurricular activities and need.

Chauhan, a fourth-year medical student, is interested in vascular surgery and medical engineering. He has a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering, where his research focused on nano-particle based auto-antibody depletion and has participated at numerous Aggies Invent competitions where he assisted in creating devices to solve various medical needs. Chauhan is a student at the college’s Houston campus.

Dolomisiewicz, a fourth-year medical student, served 12 years with the U.S. Army, including multiple combat deployments. Having served as a Special Forces Medical Sergeant, he realized the value of medical education to care for soldiers in the battlefield and at home. In 2017, Dolomisiewicz was named a Tillman Scholar, an award that recognizes 60 of the best-poised leaders from U.S. military, veterans and their spouses. He plans on continuing his service with the National Guard as a military physician and with the Veterans Affairs Medical System.

Seija, a third-year medical student, has been an active advocate for underserved populations at the local, state and national stage. He is a delegate for the American Medical Association. He has promoted health literacy and outreach efforts; blogged for the American Association of Medical College’s Aspiring Doc Diaries; and most recently helped the college receive a Medical Student Community Leadership Grant to help the homeless and indigent populations of Temple, Texas.

Welch received the Margot and Alonzo Byington ’58 Scholarship, a separate award established as a result of the gala. This scholarship was established in honor of Margot and Alonzo Byington by Carrie L. Byington, MD, ’85, and Denise M. Byington, MBA, ’86. The scholarship is a permanently endowed scholarship for a resident of the state of Texas. Welch, a second-year medical student from Yoakum, Texas, came to medical school at Texas A&M with the dream of becoming a family medicine physician in a small town serving rural populations.

The scholarships build on three priority areas: military health, rural population health and engineering medicine. Students were selected according to their specialty and performance in these areas. These scholarships are meant to have a positive impact on future health care professionals as they pursue medical education at Texas A&M.