Current Award Recipients

2011 Scholarship Winners

First Place Winner

Oscar Axel Gerdner, UConn School of Medicine

I am currently a second year M.D. candidate and merit scholar with the Class of 2014 at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. My professional and academic interests are diverse, but I have long been fascinated by ethical, social, and cultural considerations in healthcare. Since coming to UConn, I have been working on an independent empirical research project entitled "The Role of Fathers in Families of Children with HIV/AIDS in Guayaquil, Ecuador," which took me to South America for two months on an Arnold P. Gold Foundation Summer Research Fellowship. Before coming to medical school, I moved to Nice, France, where I studied at the Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis and spent a year immersed in French language and culture. In 2009, I graduated magna cum laude with an A.B. in psychology from Georgetown University, having conducted empirical research culminating in a thesis entitled "Rights and Duties in the Wake of Medical Error Disclosure and Lawsuit Threat" that earned me honors from the Department of Psychology. At Georgetown, I completed a minor concentration in Spanish and was fortunate enough to travel to Mazatlán, Mexico, where I spent the summer of 2008 teaching English as a volunteer in an underserved community. These cross-cultural, linguistic, and research experiences shape the perspective I bring to my medical education, and as a naturalized American born in Sweden, I love being home in Connecticut and am thrilled to be pursuing my training at UConn.

Click here to read my essay:  Gerdner2011.PDF (83 KB)

Second Place Winner

Nancy Peer, Ph.D. Candidate, Capella University

As an Assistant Professor of Nursing at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU), I currently coordinate the medical-surgical course in a four year baccalaureate nursing program, teaching both classroom and clinical components. Prior to joining CCSU, I assisted in the development of the two year associate degree nursing program at Goodwin College, teaching both classroom and clinical components of several nursing courses, as well as being appointed to serve on college committees relating to college accreditation. My prior nursing background in acute care settings, community settings, and long term care settings has proven beneficial in understanding the complexities of delivering health care, as well as preparing students to enter the workforce in a diverse health care environment.

Currently, I am pursuing a Ph.D. in Education, with a specialization in Nursing Education, from Capella University, Minneapolis, MN. My future plans entail continuing my education in pursuit of my Doctorate Degree, as well as continuing my rewarding teaching career in nursing at CCSU.

Click here to read her essay:  Peer2011.PDF (73 KB)