Perspectives Spring 2015

PERSPECTIVES • SPRING 2015 8 A LLISON S CHLEICHKORN Allison Schleichkorn is a student in the Physical Therapy (PT) Program at NSU’s main campus who attributes her passion for physical therapy to her grandfather—a man who was very active in the American Physical Therapy Association and published numerous books in the field. “When I was first accepted into physical therapy school, I made a promise to myself that I would do my best to continue my grandfather’s legacy,” she said. She has volunteered as an officer in the PT Student Govern- ment Association and has initiated a connection with the alumni board to build a bridge between the events and initiatives of current students and alumni. In addition to serving her class- mates and program, Schleichkorn has stepped up as a leader in the community. “The most meaningful experience for me has been working with The Interprofessional Diabetes Education and Awareness (IDEA) Initiative,” she explained. “This is a program that offers free education seminars and other services to the community, and I was assigned to a group at random and worked throughout the school year to put together a presentation on diabetes and eye health. It was an amazing experience to work with students in the College of Health Care Sciences, and our session had a great turnout. We received wonderful feedback from the atten- dees, who seemed to really value what we had to say.” Schleichkorn served as a team member in the IDEA Initiative in the 2013-14 academic year and was selected to serve as an IDEA team leader for the 2014-15 academic year. 2014 CHCS SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS E RIK R IDGEWAY Erik Ridgeway, who is a first-year student in the Physician Assistant Program at the Fort Myers Cam- pus, earned a 3.76 GPA. Equally as impressive is his commitment to community service. During this first year in the program, Ridgeway started Project Valor, a nonprofit community outreach program that offers CPR/AED training to high school students in an un- derserved, low-socioeconomic, minority community. In his scholarship application, Ridgeway discussed the impetus for Project Valor. “While working with Project Seed—an NSU-sponsored community out- reach program—I noticed that the rural population of Lee County is plagued by health care disparities, clear limitations to preventative health care access, and the overwhelming prevalence of cardiopul- monary risk factors,” he explained. “It dawned on me during the health fair that these were all serious risk factors for heart disease and sudden cardiac arrest.” Prior to coming to NSU to become a physician as- sistant, Ridgeway was a high school teacher in an un- derserved minority public school and felt compelled to be part of the solution. “I realized the best way to combat this issue was to proactively improve and en- courage effective bystander response within the com- munity by educating and training the young adults in the community.” STUDENT AFFAIRS The 2015 CHCS Scholarship application deadline is May 1, so applications will be distributed to all students by April 1.