Other Outstanding 2021 Nominees:
Brittany Ammerman has been exemplary in her continued commitment to community service. She is the founder and Board President of the Nikumbuke Soccer League in Kenya, and has helped raise >$200,000 for this non-profit organization, whose mission is to “provide women and girls the opportunity to participate in sport, receive an education, and lead healthier lives.” Brittany has also served as the orthopedic clinic coordinator for LionCare, and has been an active participant in activities involving the Office of Student Affairs and the Penn State College of Medicine curriculum.
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Tyler Brunisma has an impressive track record in community service. This includes his leadership role with the Sexual and Gender Minority Alliance, where he led a pipeline program for LGBTQ+ high school students in the community to explore careers in medicine. Tyler also served as a mentor and small group facilitator for the PULSE program which had a similar mission but was open to a wider variety of students. He also co-led a Food as Medicine initiative at Beacon Clinic in Harrisburg to provide free produce and nutrition education to patients at the free clinic. Additionally, through BraveCubs, Tyler has helped organize numerous health-related community events, including bringing superheroes and princesses to these events.
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John Gaspich co-founded a local outreach effort in State College called UP-10, which brings University Park medical students to local high schools to teach students interested in health professions about medical topics. Additionally, John has served as the Chair of the Penn State College of Medicine UP campus THON Committee for 3 years, directing fund-raising efforts that have brought in >$25,000 for pediatric cancer research and clinical care. He also serves as a regular student volunteer at the LionCare Tyrone Free Clinic, as well as the local Habitat for Humanity, LifeLion’s critical care flight transport team, and the Health South Nittany Valley Rehabilitation Hospital where he has worked on a project to prevent deep vein thromboses among inpatients. Finally, John has given multiple presentations on nutritional topics at Strawberry Fields, a local organization that supports children with intellectual disabilities.
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Kate Levenberg spear-headed the program Opening Minds through Art (OMA), which uses expressive art to engage the imaginations of people living with dementia. This included developing partnerships with assisted living homes in State College where she not only implemented OMA with residents, but also integrated their caregivers into the program to observe how creative art-making helped metamorphose their loved ones. This initiative involved volunteering every Saturday morning for an entire year, collecting data to evaluate the project, and first-authoring a paper in a medical journal. Kate is also engaged in an outreach project called Bare Soul Painting that involves collecting narrative experiences from people living with stigmatizing mental illnesses and creating artwork inspired by these stories to communicate their experiences. Her ultimate vision is to develop public galleries that share these expressive pieces to help demystify mental illness and mitigate stigma. Finally, Kate also works with the Food as Medicine group, and has helped develop a mentored gardening intervention for young patients living with bipolar disorder. Her vision is to use the Hershey Community Garden to help young community members living with this stigmatizing condition feel a sense of purpose, personal groundedness, and meaningful connection to others.
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Shayann Ramedani provided leadership through the medical student-run organization SCOPE to explore and establish an outreach clinic to the rural community of Lykens, PA (population 1800). Shayann organized 6 community outreach sessions during the COVID pandemic, providing education, flu shots, and health screenings, drawing as many as 250 people to an event. This project involved partnering with The Valley Lighthouse, the Northern Dauphin County leadership, and the Dauphin County Commissioners. Because of the success of this initiative, SCOPE is now expanding such outreach projects to nine additional sites. Shayann’s speaking abilities, organizational skills, and determination are what made possible these outreach events for underserved communities
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Elizabeth Raoof has been very involved in student government as a Curriculum Chair helping improve medical education. Her emphasis has been on virtual medical education for students and increasing access to telehealth for both in inpatient and outpatient clinical instruction. Elizabeth also volunteers with Students as Educators, facilitating problem-based learning sessions and anatomy lab sessions with first year medical students. She also works with Penn State’s Spinal Cord Injury Support Group, helping patients discuss challenges and successes encountered throughout their recovery. Additionally, Elizabeth helps provide primary care services for patients at the Bethesda Mission through the LionCare Free Clinic, and has worked in the Lebanon Free Clinic during her patient navigation experience.
