11 Medical Students accepted into the 2024 i4Kids Medical Scholars Program!
i4Kids and Dean Anantha Shekhar are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2024 i4Kids Medical Student Scholars Program. Each awardee will be offered $1,000 and a mentorship opportunity with i4Kids faculty.
Congratulations to our awardees!
Aliyyat Afolabi was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, and graduated from California State University Long Beach in 2020 with honors in Biology. At Pitt Med, she serves as President for the CHAMP mentorship program, co-coordinator for Homewood Community Home Visits, Geriatrics Medicine and Medical Students For Choice. She is a Social Medicine Fellow and is involved in SNMA. She is passionate about addressing and advocating solutions for health disparities in communities that are often failed by medicine. Her current interest is Dermatology, especially in the pediatric population.
Robyn Amegashie of Accra, Ghana, is a first-year medical student and the first in her family to enter medicine. She graduated cum laude from the University of Maryland Baltimore County with a degree in Biological Sciences in 2019. She later earned a Master’s in Public Health at Emory University and was inducted into the Phi Chapter of Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health. During her gap years before medical school, she worked, volunteered, and conducted research primarily with the underserved pediatric population in Maryland. She intends to pursue a primary care specialty, such as med-peds.
Elise Barberis of Portland, OR is a first-year medical student and thrilled to be the first member of her family to enter the field of medicine. She graduated magna cum laude with a BFA in Acting from Western Oregon University and worked as a professional actor throughout the Pacific Northwest and Southeast in the subsequent years. Elise looks forward to pursuing a career in pediatrics and is especially interested in the fields of palliative care and genetics.
Joseph DeCicco of Lancaster, PA is a 1st year medical student. He is a first-generation college graduate and the second in his family to enter medical school behind his older sister. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Penn State University in 2021, followed by one year in healthcare marketing research. In 2023, he completed his Post Baccalaureate Pre-Medical program from the University of Virginia. He intends to pursue a pediatric surgical specialty.
Viraj Govani from Hershey, PA is a 1st year medical student. He is a first-generation college graduate and the first in her family to enter the medical field. He graduated with a degree in psychology and biological sciences from Cornell University in 2023, prior to attending Pitt Med. He intends to go into pediatric psychiatry or pediatric plastic surgery.
Lauren Rebel of Pittsburgh, PA is a 2nd year medical student and the first in her family to enter medicine. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Duquesne University with a degree in Biological Sciences and minors in Biochemistry and Public Health. Lauren loves volunteering with the Supportive Care Program at UPMC Children's Hospital. She intends to pursue a career in pediatrics and is interested in hematology/oncology, palliative medicine, and complex care.
Karensa Tjoa of San Jose, California is a first-year medical student in the MD/PhD program and the first in her family to enter medicine. Before coming to Pittsburgh, she graduated from the University of California Berkeley in 2019 and worked on targeted therapeutics for acute myeloid leukemia at the University of California San Francisco. She hopes to pursue a career as a physician-scientist in pediatric neurology or neuro-oncology and contribute to improving therapies from the bench to the bedside.
Selamawit Tsegaye, a first-generation college graduate and the first in her family to pursue a career in medicine, is a first-year medical student from Silver Spring, Maryland. With a biochemistry degree from American University in 2017, Selamawit intends to go into pediatric surgery while dedicated to advancing global medicine.
Monet Weldon of Richmond, Virginia is a 1st year medical student. She is a first- generation college graduate. She graduated with a bachelor's in psychology in 2015 and in neuroscience in 2016 from Virginia Tech. She graduated with a master's in neuropsychology from Liberty University in 2019. Before medicine, she had a career in neuroscience research. She intends to go into pediatrics and is open to possible subspecialties.
Taylor Williams of Pittsburgh, PA is a 3rd year medical student and the first in her family to enter the field of medicine. She graduated with honors from the University of Pittsburgh in 2020 with a B.S in Natural Studies. Her undergrad research focused on Child Development that was continued with Pitt KiT Lab during her gap year as a lab manager. At UPSOM, she is involved in disability advocacy including engaging in research on access to healthcare for those with disabilities and she also enjoys volunteering to help underrepresented communities. She intends to pursue a career in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities after completing a residency in Child Neurology or Pediatrics.
Ivy Yip from Hong Kong is a 1st year medical student and first in her immediate family to attend high school, college, and medical school. She graduated from Loyola University Chicago, followed by a career in home nursing, community mental health, and geriatrics care coordination. She hopes to pursue a career as a physician in psychiatry, public health, and healthcare administration.