Lackawanna Students Earn National PBL Awards Six Lackawanna College students competed alongside nearly 800 of the country’s top business students in the 2021 Future Business Leaders of America – Phi Beta Lambda (FBLA-PBL) National Leadership Conference (NLC) held virtually between June 24-27. Several Falcons placed in the top ten in their respective categories. The students had previously competed and won between first and third place in state competitions, also held online in April 2021, qualifying them to advance to nationals. At the NLC, Business graduate Jillian Martin ’21, of Berwick, and Accounting major Brian Davis, of Scranton, partnered to earn fourth place in the business category. Current Professional Studies bachelor’s degree student Mason Kay ’19, of Clarks Summit, earned fifth place in Digital Media. Current Accounting bachelor’s major Sara Kellerman ’17, of Honesdale, obtained seventh place in Accounting for Professionals. Brittany Flynn ’21, of Mayfield, placed eighth in Sports Management and Marketing and ninth in Contemporary Sports Issues. Scranton native Kelly Kuzma ’21 also competed in the national event. College faculty and staff supporting PBL include advisor Carolyn Chupko, co-advisors Suzanne Cercone and Karen Lipnichan, and Pennsylvania PBL State Advisor Beverly O’Hora. PBL is the college division of FBLA with over 8,000 members and more than 350 chapters, helping students prepare for careers in business. As PBL’s mission is to “prepare students to become community-minded business leaders in a global society through relevant career preparation and leadership experiences,” Lackawanna’s chapter is open to students of all majors.
The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education Confers Awards The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education proudly celebrated the accomplishments of its 2021 graduating class of residents and fellows on Friday, June 18. During a virtual commencement, tribute was given to 81 graduates for their resiliency during the COVID-19 pandemic and their dedication to the medical profession as practitioners who are helping to address the shortage of primary care physicians in locations across the nation, including Northeast Pennsylvania. Certain graduates, faculty members and community partners were recognized for their outstanding commitment to and success within the program. The ceremony for the 43rd graduating class, including award presentations, can be viewed at TheWrightGraduation.org. A full list of awardees appears below. Career geriatrician Edward Dzielak, D.O., an alumnus of The Wright Center who recently set aside his retirement to serve as Program Director of our new Geriatrics Fellowship, was honored with the prestigious Bost Award. Named in honor of the late Dr. Charles Bost, an original founder of The Wright Center’s residency programs, the award is given to a community leader who most demonstrates inspiration, guidance and support for The Wright Center’s mission. Several first-time awards, including one bearing the name of Jermyn resident Gerard Geoffroy, chair of The Wright Center for Community Health Board of Directors, also were presented. The inaugural Gerard Geoffroy Patient and Community Engagement Award was bestowed on geriatrics fellow Nirali Patel, M.D. Dr. Patel intends to stay on as a faculty physician at The Wright Center, delivering care to older residents in Northeast Pennsylvania and training others to do the same in this or similar settings. The first Dr. Sanjay Chandragiri Outstanding Psychiatry Resident Award was presented to Alex Slaby, M.D. Dr. Slaby plans to practice in the Lehigh Valley. The inaugural Dr. Stephen J. Pancoast Compassion, Kindness, Service and Humility Award — which honors the legacy of Dr. Pancoast, who recently retired after serving as an integral member of The Wright Center’s Ryan White HIV care team for more than 20 years — was presented to The Wright Center’s first gastroenterology fellowship graduate, Mladen Jecmenica, M.D. Also, The Wright Center “Values in Action” Spirit Award annually recognizes the members of one residency program and one fellowship program; this year’s recipients were the National Family Medicine Residency and the Gastroenterology Fellowship. Other awards included:Teacher of the Year (Internal Medicine Residency) – Douglas Klamp, M.D.; co-Teachers of the Year (Family Medicine Residency) – Alexies Samonte, M.D., and Jason Scotti, M.D.; Faculty of the Year (National Family Medicine Residency) – Anam Whyne, D.O.; Teacher of the Year (Psychiatry Residency) – Sanjay Chandragiri, M.D.; Teacher of the Year (Cardiology Fellowship) – Samir B. Pancholy, M.D.; Teacher of the Year (Gastroenterology Fellowship) – Aman Ali, M.D.; Teacher of the Year (Geriatrics Fellowship) – Edward Dzielak, D.O. The Robert E. Wright Award (for Internal Medicine) – Mousa Thalji, M.D.; the Moses Taylor Hospital Golden Stethoscope (for Internal Medicine) – Mousa Thalji, M.D.; Outstanding Fellow (Cardiology) – Gaurav Patel, M.B.B.S.; Outstanding Fellow (Gastroenterology) – Mladen Jecmenica, M.D.; Outstanding Fellow (Geriatrics) – Nirali Patel, M.D.; Intern of the Year (Internal Medicine Residency) – Usman Manzoor, M.D.; Intern of the Year (National Family Medicine Residency) – Carl Supnet, D.O.; Interns of the Year (Regional Family Medicine) – Mohamed El Ayashy, M.D., and Supriana Bhandol, M.D.; Intern of the Year (Psychiatry) – Erica Schmidt, M.D. Chief Fellow (Cardiology) – Gaurav Patel, M.B.B.S.; Chief Fellow (Gastroenterology) – Mladen Jecmenica, M.D.; Chief Fellow (Geriatrics) – Nirali Patel, M.D.; Chief Residents (Internal Medicine) – Frank Frasca, D.O., Gowtham Gannamani, M.D., Daniel C. Kazmierski, M.D., Mousa Thalji, M.D., and Korinn Vandervall, D.O.; Chief Residents (National Family Medicine) – Dallin Erickson, D.O., Esther Quintero, D.O., Loc Nguyen, D.O., David Eki, D.O., Catherine Njiru-Sewer, D.O., and Sun-jae Kim, D.O.; Chief Residents (Psychiatry) – Shevani Ganesh, M.D., and Casey Lenderman, D.O.; Chief Residents (Regional Family Medicine) – Ebi Rowshanshad, D.O., and Lee Wagner, M.D. The Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Award – Lee Wagner, M.D. (Regional Family Medicine); Outstanding Resident Award (National Family Medicine) – Catherine Njiru-Sewer, D.O.; COPC Project Award (National Family Medicine Residency) – David Eki, D.O., and Afia Ukor Albin, D.O.; Practice Improvement Award (National Family Medicine Residency) – Xuan-Loc V. Nguyen, D.O., and Brandon John Miller, D.O.; AFMRD Family Medicine Resident Award for Advocacy (National Family Medicine Residency) – Catherine Njiru-Sewer, D.O.; Founding Member Award (National Family Medicine Residency) – Eleni O’Donovan, M.D. Dr. Sanjay Chandragiri Outstanding Psychiatry Resident Award – Alex Slaby, M.D.; Dr. Stephen J. Pancoast Compassion, Kindness, Service and Humility Award – Mladen Jecmenica, M.D.; Gerard Geoffroy Patient and Community Engagement Award – Nirali Patel, M.D.; The Wright Center “Values in Action” Spirit Award – National Family Medicine Residency and Gastroenterology Fellowship; Bost Award – Edward Dzielak, D.O. The virtual commencement recognized the accomplishments of all 81 graduating student learners, 10 of whom will stay in Northeast Pennsylvania to continue practicing medicine. The doctors studied in The Wright Center’s internal medicine, regional family medicine, national family medicine and psychiatry residencies as well as its cardiovascular disease, gastroenterology and geriatrics fellowships.
Marywood University Receives Distinguished Chapter and Advisor Awards Marywood University’s National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS) Chapter recently received the Distinguished Chapter Award. Additionally, Haleigh Zurek, assistant director for campus programming, received the Distinguished Advisor Award from the NSLS. Marywood University’s NSLS Chapter was one of five from the more than 700 NSLS Chapters that received the Distinguished Chapter Award. The University’s NSLS Chapter will receive $700 and each executive board member of the chapter will receive $50. Haleigh Zurek, winner of the Distinguished Advisor Award from NSLS, will receive $150. NSLS Chapter Advisors are vital in the development, perpetuation, and strength of the NSLS mission. Not only are they mentors and leaders to the executive board and local chapter members, but they also serve as a liaison with the campus administration. Marywood University’s Chapter of the NSLS is overseen and facilitated by the Office of Student Engagement. Inductees of Marywood’s NSLS Chapter Honor Society work with Marywood’s Office of Student Engagement to complete various steps prior to being inducted into the Society. These steps include Orientation, Leadership Training Day, meetings with Success Networking Teams, and Live Speaker Broadcasts. Marywood’s NSLS Chapter induction rating during the 2019-2020 academic year was among the Top 50 from the more than 700 NSLS chapters across the country. NSLS is the nation’s largest leadership honor society. Students are selected by their college for membership based on either their academic standing or leadership potential. Candidacy is a nationally recognized achievement of honorable distinction. With more than 700 chapters, the NSLS currently has more than a million members nationwide. For additional information about Marywood University’s NSLS Chapter, please visit The University’s Student Engagement office, at marywood.edu/studentactivities/index.html, or call (570) 340-6016.
Marywood University’s Society of Collegiate Journalists Chapter Wins Multiple Awards at National Contest Marywood University’s Chapter of the Society for Collegiate Journalists (SCJ) recently won multiple first, second, third, and honorable mention awards at the Society for Collegiate Journalists National 2021 Contest. Thomas Kerrigan, Clarks Green, Pa., won first place in the category of Feature Photography for his photo, “Goat Yoga;” and Emily Scholl, Quakertown, Pa., Jenny Ngyuen, Scranton, Pa., and Michael Basta won first place for their Multimedia Series titled, “Media That Matters.” Second Place was awarded to The Wood Word, Marywood University’s online student-run newspaper; Sydney Toy, Carbondale, Pa., for her Enterprise Series titled, “Border Stories (Part 1 and II)”; Ellen Frantz, Camp Hill, Pa., and Briana Ryan, Shenandoah, Pa., for their Beat Reporting; and Eric Spivak, Scranton, Pa., for the Column or Commentary category. Third place winners include Michael Basta, Pittston Pa., in the category of News Photography; Ellen Frantz for News Story; Brendan Murphy, Stroudsburg, Pa., for Sports News; Thomas Kerrigan, Ellen Frantz, and Marli Hoskins, Moosic, Pa., for the category of Television News Package; and the TV Marywood Staff (TVM) in the category of Television Commercial/PSA, for the “Stay Home: A Public Service Announcement.” Honorable Mentions were awarded to The Wood Word in the category of Social Media Presence Overall Excellence; Jennifer Flynn, Cranford, N.J., in the category of Infographic for “Covid19 precautions and subsequent student survey sheds light on campus”; Emily Scholl, Justin Kucharski, Olyphant, Pa., and Megan Reynolds, Moscow, Pa., for Multimedia Series; Elizabeth Deroba, Bloomsburg, Pa., for Enterprise Series; and Emma Rushworth, Tunkhannock, Pa., Ellen Frantz, Erin Kane, Scranton, Pa., Richard Andrus, Honeoye Falls, N.Y., and Michael Basta, for Television News Package. Senior SCJ Chapter students Briana Ryan, SCJ president, and current editor-in-chief at The Wood Word, received the Medal of Merit, and Certificates of Merit were presented to Autumn Bohner, Domsife, Pa., digital content lead designer at The Wood Word, and Justin Kucharski, SJ secretary and former editor-in-chief at The Wood Word. The Society for Collegiate Journalists is the nation’s oldest honor society for student media leaders. Journalism is a foundation of democracy, and, to ensure its future, SCJ focuses on professional development at the collegiate level. SCJ advances ethical, accurate, and innovative collegiate journalism nationally and creates a strong network of advocates for First Amendment education. Lindsey Wotanis, Ph.D., president of the National SCJ Board, serves as advisor for the SCJ Chapter at Marywood University, which, to date, has inducted more than 100 students to its SCJ Chapter. For additional information about Marywood University’s Multimedia Communication Department, please visit marywood.edu/commarts, or call the Office of Admissions at (570) 348-6234.
