November 18, 2009

SIU Med Student Receives NAMME Award

Kelly Vasquez, a junior at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, has received a monetary award from the National Association of Medical Minority Educators (NAMME). This award is given annually to underrepresented minority students based upon their academic record and community service.    Eight scholarships were awarded, two from each of four regions throughout the United States.

NAMME is a national organization dedicated to developing and sustaining productive relationships and working to ensure racial and ethnic diversity in all of the health professions.  The NAMME scholarship was established in 1995.

Vasquez is a graduate of Warren G. Harding Medical Magnet High School (2000) and Fairfield University (2004), both in Connecticut.  She is the mother of two daughters and lives in Springfield.

SIU School of Medicine is a public medical school established in 1970 and focused on the health care needs of downstate Illinois.  An international leader in medical education, the school is based in Carbondale and Springfield and is specifically oriented to educating new physicians prepared to practice in Illinois communities.  Since opening, more than 2,200 physicians have graduated from its program.  Its Web site is www.siumed.edu.

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