Development increased awareness to depression in medical students that this study has generated,” commented Davis. Noted Dr. Gorenflo, “I was so impressed by Lindsay and Sara — both a perfect fit for the award, and very deserving.” The Gorenflo Award is intended to reward passion and enthusiasm for research. Jennifer J. Knoester is the seventh recipient of the Harold Kessler, M.D. Scholarship in Family Medicine. Jenny’s experiences already show a distinguished career of service. She stands out by not only “thinking globally and acting locally,” but also by “acting globally.” Jenny’s experiences include her international HIV work in Cape Town, South Africa, and she was also a Policy and Advocacy Intern at the International AIDS Society in Geneva, Switzerland. In 2007 she became the Quito Project Director, a non-profit multidisciplinary, student-run organization at U-M, and orchestrated all project activities relative to the goal of providing comprehensive care, education and social services to the underserved communities in Quito, Ecuador. Yet, well before arriving in Quito for the first time, she had become dedicated to promoting social justice and resolving health disparities between populations. “Although medicine is inherently personal, human lives and livelihoods are always contextualized within families, communities and nations. Primary care physicians — naturally oriented towards equity, work each day to treat their patients while keeping one eye on the conditions that made them sick in the first place. It is
www.med.umich.edu/fammed
Thomas L. Schwenk, M.D., the George A. Dean, M.D. Chair of Family Medicine, with Barbara Kessler, donor, Jennifer Knoester (center), winner of the Harold Kessler, M.D. Scholarship, and Dick Soble, Barbara’s husband.
Award winner, Jennifer Knoester (left), and donor, Barbara Kessler (right), share a hug during the awards ceremony.
incredibly reassuring to know that we have allies such as the Kesslers in
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the pursuit of social justice. I am grateful for their support each day.” Barbara Kessler, who, with her two siblings, established the award in memory and honor of their father, attended the event with her husband, Dick Soble, and noted, “Each year, meeting with the scholarship recipient is an important milestone and memory point for our family, and we are very pleased to be a part of the life path of future family physicians.” The Harold Kessler, M.D. Scholarship in Family Medicine is awarded annually and based on outstanding academic achievement, demonstrated financial need, interest and dedication in helping the underserved populations and a demonstrated interest in family medicine. ■
Spring 2011