SMDEP Alumni News

Congratulations to Our 2009 Ambassador Incentive Winners!

Each year SMDEP honors up to three Ambassadors who recruit the most students that submit completed applications by the deadline and are accepted into the program. Winners will be funded to attend a medical- or dental-related professional conference. The conference must be approved by the SMDEP National Program Office.

2009 Ambassador Incentive Winners

This year, we had a two-way tie, which resulted in four winners. This year's winners are:

Katherine Lee attended SMDEP at UT Houston in 2008. She is currently a rising junior at Virginia Tech majoring in biology with a minor in medicine in society. Katherine is a member of Alpha Chi Sigma and plans to attend medical school in hopes of working in pediatrics or possibly pediatric transplant surgery.

Hillary Rosen attended SMDEP at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2008 and is currently a rising junior at Tufts University, majoring in Spanish. This year, she was secretary for the Tufts Pre-Dental Society. She will be applying to dental schools in the fall of 2010.

Biyanka Patel attended SMDEP at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2008. She is a rising junior majoring in biomedical science at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Biyanka hopes to study medicine at the Texas A&M Health Science Center and pursue a career as a primary care physician.

Preethi Raghu attended SMDEP at the University of Washington in 2008. She is graduating from UW-Seattle this year with a B.S. in Neurobiology and plans to take a year off to do community service and neurobiology research. She will enter medical school in 2010.

Alumni Profile

Meet Dynora Pierre-Louis!   Dynora Pierre-Louis attended SMDEP at Yale in 2009. She is currently a junior at the University of Florida working on a combined BS/MS program in Health Education. Dynora hopes to attend medical school upon completion of her Master's degree to become a pediatrician. This year during spring break, Dynora will embark on a Florida Alternative Break Trip (FAB) to heighten social awareness of HIV/AIDS within the United States. She will spend a week with 13 other undergraduate students working in Mobile, Alabama at South Alabama CARES (Community AIDS Resources, Education & Support), an agency dedicated to providing medical and social service support, as well as educational services, for those affected by HIV/AIDS. Dynora is also planning to go on a Mission Trip to Haiti this summer to assist with the Disaster Relief Efforts. When she is not volunteering or studying, Dynora enjoys competing in beauty pageants, watching movies and attending Gator Football Games. GO GATORS!