SIU Medicine community shares artistry in 2025 Scope
SIU School of Medicine unveiled the 2025 edition of SCOPE, its student-produced literary magazine, at an awards reception April 21. The booklet contains short stories, poems and artwork from students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the school. First published in 1994, Scope showcases the artistic and creative energy of the SIU Medicine community.
Prizes were awarded to the top three entries in the categories of poetry, prose, photography and art. The winners, selected by the editorial staff, received monetary awards.
The first-place poetry winner was Adam Western, MS4, of Rochester, for “Haiku Collection of the Medical Students.” The second-place winner was Hailey Hollinshead, MS4, from Springfield, for “Perspective.” The third-place winner was Jenna Ribbing, MS3, from Anna, for “Lethal Boys.”
Ribbing was also the first-place prose winner for “Period.” The second-place prose award went to Beth Ingalsbe, a nurse in Internal Medicine, for her story “Imagine a Woman.” Third place was awarded to Haley Davitz, MS1, of Freeburg, for “Can’t You See.”
The first-place art award went to J. Vincent Thomalla, MD, an alumnus from the Class of 1979, for his acrylic painting of a sea turtle, “Going to the Light.” The second-place winner was Nina Litvak, MS1, of Springfield, for her acrylic painting “Nina.” Third-place winner was Amy Lee, MS2, of Peoria, for her gouache painting entitled “Serenity.”
Nathan Grant Bernacet, an SIU community member, earned the first-place photography prize for his image of a starfish on “Starfish Beach, Panama.” The second-place winner was “Beacon of Solitude,” by cardiologist Abdul Moiz Hafiz, MD. His photo of a Lake Michigan lighthouse at sunset was featured on the cover of Scope. The third-place winner was Mackenzie Sanner, library staff, for a skyline perspective of “Chicago.”
Community member Thomas Hingle’s digital painting “A Woman and Her Two Cats” received both the People’s Choice Award and the Dean’s Choice Award.
Third-year medical students Jenna Ribbing and Ireland Smith of East Alton served as editors-in-chief of Scope. At the luncheon, Smith presented the Editor’s Choice Award to Alana Goodson, MS3, of Mundelein for her poem, “Tumors Give Us Butterflies.” (Co-editors Ribbing and Smith are pictured at top.)
All SCOPE editions, including the new editions, are posted online at siumed.edu/scope. Contact Kristie Parkins, Medical Humanities, 217-545-4262 weekdays for additional print copies. Submissions for the 2025 edition of Scope will be accepted through January 2026.
