OU Freshmen Receive Awards at UAB's Summer Internship Program
By Maxine Garvey, DPT - Allied Health Department Beat Reporter
Congratulations to OU freshmen, Jocelyn Woodson and Eryn Peeler, who ran away with second and third place awards, respectively, at the recent Minority Health & Health Disparities Research Center awards and promotion ceremony. The event was held on June 28, 2013, at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB).
 | (L-R) Freshman Interns Eryn Peeler, Joycelyn Woodson, and Kalae Harden with OU campus coordinator Dr. Maxine Garvey. |
Both students are pre-physical therapy majors. They competed against ten other minority freshmen with various healthcare related majors from UAB, Stillman, Tuskegee, Alabama State, and Alabama A&M universities.
 | Second place award winner Jocelyn Woodson with an official from UAB. |
Awards were given for the top three posters and presentations depicting the students' career roadmap from undergraduate to professional or graduate school. First place went to a Tuskegee University freshman. The top three students received additional monetary awards for their exceptional work.
Oakwood is one of six HBCUs in the southern United States that is the sub-recipient of this opportunity through UAB. The purpose of the project, funded by a research grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH), is to increase the number of well trained minority healthcare providers in the "Deep South." The students obtain rigorous knowledge and practical experience in research, scientific writing, GRE prep, and career planning. In addition, they get to see a wide range of healthcare professional schools and clinics up close.
| Third place award winner Eryn Peeler. |
A total of six Oakwood students (3 freshmen, 2 sophomores, and 1 junior) are current recipients of this summer internship that takes place over the months of June and July. The sophomore and junior award ceremonies will take place in July. As the OU campus coordinator for the project, Dr Maxine Garvey provides advisement and monitoring of the interns' academic progress throughout the school year.
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