2017 Michael L. Stone Award Recipients Outstanding Professional Conduct Awards At its February annual meeting, ABFAS awarded nine graduating students the 2017 Michael L. Stone, DPM, Outstanding Professional Conduct Award. Each selection, determined by the professors and fellow students at the respective podiatric medical colleges, was to “the individual who exemplified the highest standard of professionalism, deportment, and ethics in their interactions with peers, professors, and staff.” Each award includes a plaque and a cash award of $2,000 to be used at the student’s discretion.
Weston Packard // Arizona School of Podiatric Medicine at Midwestern University Wes Packard was selected by the Arizona School of Podiatric Medicine because he demonstrates the qualities of professionalism embodied so well by Dr. Michael Stone. Among those qualities are excellence in scholarship, selflessness and caring, and a strong work ethic. Wes has a GPA of 3.94 and excels on his clinical rotations. He is a Pi Delta candidate involved in research on 5th metatarsal fractures and was an APMSA Student of the Year Nominee. Wes received the APMA education foundation scholarship, and the Johnson and Johnson wound management scholarship. Wes honed his leadership skills as President of the American Academy of Podiatric Practice Management and as Secretary of his class. He was selected as a Surgery Teaching Assistant and was the top suturer in a class-wide competition. He also served for two years as a Student Ambassador for prospective students. During his time at AZPod, Wes has spent countless hours in community service which included visits to different homeless shelters, work with the Special Olympics and the American Diabetes Association, medical care at sporting events such as ultramarathons, and other health fairs and foot screenings. Wes also presented a Jones fracture case series at Grand Rounds to community podiatrists, faculty, and students. Wes looks forward to an exciting and satisfying career in podiatry. Eugene Pastorius // Barry University School of Podiatric Medicine Eugene is a true scholar as proven by his numerous academic awards and achievements. He has distinguished himself as a student, scholar, leader, volunteer and supporter of the podiatric profession. He is in the top 10% of his class and has tutored in Histology at the medical school level. He is a member of BUSPM’s ACFAS student chapter. Eugene has demonstrated his leadership skills while serving as Vice President of BUSPM’s Podopediatrics club. Eugene takes time out of his busy schedule as a medical student to volunteer for numerous charitable and community causes. And he does this while maintaining a superior academic performance. Eugene has held positions in multiple clubs, as well as being active in the Miami volunteer community with programs designed for kids such as the Special Olympics and Joe DiMaggio’s Children’s Hospital Health Fair. He is an active member of the Phi Delta Honor Society Eta Chapter. Eugene is an asset now and will definitely be so in the future.
Megan Hom // California School of Podiatric Medicine at Samuel Merritt University
Megan Hom has excelled both academically and in leadership positions during her time as a student. Since enrolling at CSPM, Megan has excelled academically and will be shortly confirmed as the Valedictorian for the class of 2017 because of her cumulative grade point average of 3.974. She has a passion for serving the underserved and has participated in her school’s annual medical mission trip to San Ysidro, California. She has also volunteered at several Bay Area community clinics, including Clinica Tepati, the Berkeley Suitcase Clinic, San Francisco Project Homeless Connect—all of which provide basic health and foot care to various underserved and homeless populations. While Megan’s priority is her academic studies, she has also served as the Vice-president as well as President of her class. She has worked with other disciplines at Samuel Merritt University to organize events and activities to raise awareness in the community about diabetes. Megan has also co-authored publications that appeared in the student-run/published “National Foot & Ankle Review.” Megan looks forward to graduating this year and making a positive impact as a future DPM.
Dixon Xu // Des Moines University College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery
Dixon has excelled academically throughout his time at DMU. He is a member of the Pi Delta Honor Society and has received a University Academic Merit Scholarship for four years in addition to an APMA Education Foundation Scholarship. He received academic awards in Anatomy, Biochemistry, Physiology, Pharmacology, Microbiology/Immunology, and Pathology at the 2015 College Recognition and Rite of Passage Ceremony. He has been a tutor for first and second-year podiatric and osteopathic medical students in the basic sciences, a Teaching Assistant in the DO/DPM first-year Clinical Medicine course and second-year Lower Limb Anatomy course. He is also an active member in community and global health groups, and served leadership roles in various clubs and organizations at DMU. Dixon was elected Vice-president of the Des Moines University Global Health Student Club. He served as a translator on a mission trip to Honduras and later founded the University’s first domestic service trip where he was a student leader for a mission to Mississippi. There, he led a group of 10 students that volunteered at free clinics and educating patients. He is very active in research and his credits include one peer review publication, two manuscripts in the review stage and a scientific poster presentation. Dixon was awarded a University Summer Mentored Research appointment in 2014. Dixon is widely respected by faculty, staff and his fellow students.
Margaret Kreutter // Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science Margaret “Maggie” Kreutter hails from a small town in southern Minnesota where she developed her lifelong passions for health care, downhill skiing and a tatertot hotdish. Maggie maintains a 4.0 GPA while being involved as a delegate for APMSA, serving as the student liaison to the APMA Political Action Committee and as vice president of the Scholl chapter of candidates for the Pi Delta Honors Society. Academically, she has excelled and has been rewarded through many merit and organizational scholarships, including a certificate of recognition for her participation in the Annual Grand Rounds program, a Volunteer Service Award, and the Third Year Distinguished Scholar Award In addition to high academic achievement, Margaret is recognized by faculty and her peers for her professionalism, eagerness to learn, infectious smile, and strong work ethic. Her Faculty Mentor commented, “Margaret is a very emphatic and knowledgeable person who can put someone at ease with her kind words and smile. A very humble woman who puts her best foot forward (no pun intended). In surgical skills lab, she worked hard to understand the instrumentation and surgeries, but also consistently sought knowledge. Margaret is a pleasure to know and a value to our profession.” Maggie is eager to pursue a residency and carry on her involvement in the field of podiatry.
Nilin Rao // Kent State University College of Podiatric Medicine
Nilin Rao simultaneously pursued his DPM training, while he also completed a PhD in Exercise Physiology from Kent State University in December, 2016. He has extensive research experience for which he consistently exceeds expectations. He is involved in several research projects, holds two product patents, and is a recent co-founder and CEO of the wound care company, TheraPod Medical LLC; a company geared toward providing new products and technologies for the podiatric profession. Nilin has a 3.98 GPA and has been on KSUCPM’s Dean’s List since his enrollment at the college. He has received multiple scholarships, grants and honors for his outstanding academic performance. Nilin serves as Student Ambassador, and tutors first year students in gross anatomy and lower extremity anatomy. He is very involved in advocacy of the podiatric profession and had the honor of serving in several leadership positions, including President of the Ohio Podiatric Medical Students Association and President of the Pi Delta National Podiatric Honor Society-Beta Chapter. He has the exceptional talent of facilitating the participation of others and making those around him function at a higher level.
Jonathon Srour// New York College of Podiatric Medicine In both his pre-clinical and clinical years at the New York College, John has demonstrated mastery, dedication and passion towards the many challenges placed in front of him. As a student clinician, Mr. Srour was universally lauded for his professionalism, application of didactic knowledge and thorough integration of all aspects of his clinical training into the management of his patients. On rotation to sites external to NYCPM during his senior year he represented himself and the College with a unique and commendable skill set which will no doubt be rewarded in this year’s Centralized Application Service for Podiatric Residencies (CASPR) cycle and beyond. Jonathon was president of the NYCPM chapter of ACFAS and initiated lectures and workshops that actively engaged his fellow students, allowing them to practically apply their didactic knowledge. During his 4th year, he served as the student liaison to the ACFAS Membership Committee, a position afforded to only one student in the country. A former professional dancer, Jonathon hopes to pursue lifelong research toward preventing and treating injuries in dance medicine.
Jefferey Zimmerman // Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine Jeffery began his interest in medicine after being diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome when he was only eight years old. Later in life, Jeffery could appreciate the severity of his past condition, which inspired him to shadow different medical disciplines when deciding on a future career path. Jeffery earned multiple scholarships from his strong academic standings and interest in lower extremity anatomy. He was appointed as an anatomical instructor for the school’s academic reinforcement program. Jeffery is the president of his school’s anatomical honor society and an officer in the sports medicine club. After focusing his passion in podiatric medicine, Jeffery received several academic awards in the anatomical sciences, including the Herbert Rothfeld DPM Scholarship and Stanley Grode DPM Memorial Scholarship Fund, and was appointed as the General Anatomy instructor for the Student Academic Reinforcement Program at TUSPM. Jeffery also earned the Dr. John Buckholtz and Dr. Harold Vogler Surgical Scholarship Fund. Zimmerman recently received acknowledgement as a candidate for the Pi Delta National Podiatric Honor Society. Jeffery recently presented an abstract at the APMA scientific meeting, the National. He plans on continuing research into his residency. He’s had the honor of serving in several leadership positions, including President of the Ohio Podiatric Medical Students Association and President of the Pi Delta National Podiatric Honor Society-Beta Chapter. He has the exceptional talent of facilitating the participation of others and making those around him function at a higher level. Rishika Lagisetti // Western University of Health Sciences College of Podiatric Medicine
Coming into the podiatry school with a goal of becoming a well-rounded student, Rishika Lagisetti was academically competitive, involved in community service and took on many leadership roles. Serving as a student ambassador for the college along with taking on other leadership roles, she has worked to become an integral part of the community. She hopes to continue her pursuit of becoming a well-rounded resident and future physician looking to make a daily impact. In her personal statement, Rishika says “One of the principle reasons I attended podiatry school and chose to pursue a career in medicine is because of the satisfaction and privilege we are afforded to offer a service to others in the community. I was able to accomplish this by participating in multiple community service activities while in school. These included events such as Care Harbor LA, a free clinic for those without access to it otherwise and Happy Feet, an organization that works to offer podiatric care to homeless individuals living on skid row and multiple other screenings both on and off campus. As part of the college community I took on leadership roles including positions as a student ambassador, secretary, and later vice president of the college podiatric medical association.”
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