OAKWOOD, VA (June 1, 2021) – Student, faculty and alumni awards were presented recently at the Appalachian College of Pharmacy (ACP) through a virtual ceremony recognizing various achievements.
ACP President Mickey McGlothlin welcomed viewers to the virtual ceremony — the 17th awards day recognition ceremony held at the school.
“The Appalachian College of Pharmacy has educated so many great pharmacists who are working to improve the health of their fellow men and women,” McGlothlin said. “Our students are similar to those pharmacists because I trust and believe they too are going to become first-class professional pharmacists. I’m also very proud of our faculty and staff who work hard and smart to assure that our students get the education they need to become first-class professional pharmacists. Tonight, we honor our best and brightest.”
Ted Hagen gave the invocation.
Awards were presented virtually featuring the photo and remarks of the presenters and then photos of each of the award recipients. The awards presented were as follows:
Students who have maintained a 4.0 grade point average were recognized as follows: Class of 2021: Alexandria Cooper, Ray George, Cecily Groves, Ruth Mensah and Sara Reitz; Class of 2022: Mahdieh Farooqi; and Class of 2023: Shelomith Akpoghenobor and Divina Mbah.
The Best in Therapeutics award was presented to Landon Feuchtenberger; Best in Integrated Sciences: Divine Mbah; and Best in Pharmaceutics: Mahdieh Farooqi.
Community Service Awards recognizing students who completed not only the 100 hours of community service required by ACP, but who excelled and went above and beyond were presented to: Bryna Marla Addair, Class of 2021; Alexis Thurston, Class of 2022; and Brittany McClanahan, Class of 2023.
Dean’s awards, recognizing outstanding achievement and unselfish devotion by a student to his or her class, to the college and to the profession of pharmacy were also presented. Academics, involvement in student organizations and professional organizations and extra-curricular service learning opportunities are considered in choosing the recipients.
The Class of 2021 Dean’s Award recipient is Ruth Mensah; the Class of 2022 Dean’s Award recipient is Alexis Inman; and the Class of 2023 Dean’s Award recipient is Ayomipo Adeyemo.
Dean’s List students from the Class of 2021, who had a grade point average of 3.5 or above were also recognized and included Alexandria Cooper, Ray George, Cecil Groves, Ruth Mensah, Sarah Reitz, Mariah Johnson, Hailey Justus, Prudencia Bongmuyong, Kaitlyn Calhoun, Maha Hassan, Benjamin Clayton Del Toro, Trenton McClanahan, George Sharobeem, Justin Sansom, Bryna Marla Addair, Madison Johnson, Alison Surratt, Jeromy Mullin and Miguel Contreras-Avila.
Distinguished Service awards recognizing academic excellence, leadership and outstanding service commitment to the college and the greater community were presented as follows:
Class of 2021: Andrea Carter, for her support of local businesses after flooding and as a supporter of numerous vaccine and flu shot clinics.
Class of 2022: Sally-Kela Mbah for her support of several flu shot clinics, her active role in Pro Me’ and the Diversity Task Force and her support of Feeding My Sheep Food Pantry, Breast Cancer Awareness and Grundy RAM.
Class of 2023: Michael Devon Stewart for his support of a flu shot clinic, Backpack Blessings and Operation Christmas Child.
Student Leadership awards were presented to students exemplifying outstanding leadership qualities and a demonstrated interest in community pharmacy or health systems practice. Winners were: Class of 2021, Cecily Groves; Class of 2022, Matthew Bates; and Class of 2023: Ayomipo Adeyemo.
Professionalism awards were presented to Alexandria Cooper and Prudencia Bongmuyong, Class of 2021; Sally-Kella Mbah, Class of 2022; and Shelomith Akpoghenobor, Class of 2023.
Academic Excellence in Pharmacy awards were presented to Ray George, Class of 2021; Mahdieh Farooqi, Class of 2022; and Divine Mbah, Class of 2023.
Outstanding faculty awards were also presented. Faculty awards given were as follows: Science Faculty Teaching Award, Dr. Ingo Engels; Academic Excellence in Clinical Teaching Award, Dr. Richard Nicholas; Student Organization Advisor of the Year, Dr. Ingo Engels; Administrative Staff Member of the Year, Jason McGlothlin; Preceptor of Excellence Award, Dr. Randall Cole; Preceptor of the Year Award, James Black, Bradley Free Clinic in Roanoke, VA; Community Outreach Acclamation Award, Dr. Randall Cole; and Above and Beyond Award, Dr. Caterina Hernandez.
A number of additional student awards were also given including:
- VIATRIS Excellence in Pharmacy Award, Maha Hassan;
- VPhA Research and Foundation Student Award, Hailey Justus;
- National Community Pharmacists Association Student of the Year Award, Erika Coleman;
- Wolters Kluwer Clinical Drug Information Award of Excellence in Clinical Communication, Mariah Johnson;
- Virginia Society of Health System Pharmacy (VSHP) Excellence in Health System Pharmacy Award, Kaitlyn Calhoun;
- VSHP Student Leadership Award: Miguel Contreras; and
- Merck Awards, Sarah Reitz and Benjamin Clayton.
The Distinguished Alumni Award was presented to Dr. Tyler Jauss, oncology infusion pharmacist at the Kettering Cancer Center in Dayton, Ohio. Jauss is a 2016 graduate of the Appalachian College of Pharmacy.
“We extend our congratulations to each of the members of our student body, our faculty and our staff who were selected for the awards presented,” said ACP Dean Susan Mayhew. “This past year has been especially challenging as we navigated through unfamiliar territory as a result of the pandemic, but we have been successful in doing so and these awards and the recent graduation of our Class of 2021 is a testament to that. We look forward to seeing our students, faculty and staff continue to excel.”
The virtual ceremony may be viewed at: https://youtu.be/xyI3Fvs-A7M.
The Appalachian College of Pharmacy is the only three-year Doctor of Pharmacy program in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Founded in 2003, the college accepted its first students in 2005. It is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Its mission is to cultivate a learning community committed to education, community outreach and the professional development of pharmacists. Its graduate pharmacists are now practicing throughout the United States.
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