Study Abroad Alumni in the Wild: Biomedical sciences student earns prestigious national scholarship
Posted on October 31, 2024 by Med School Watercooler
Anita Nguyen was on the other side of the world when she received the news that she was one of the 10 students nationwide among 3,000 applicants to be awarded a prestigious scholarship.
“I received the notification for my selection while on my study abroad trip to the United Kingdom for my British Contributions to Science and Medicine course,” she said. “It was a wonderful addition to my day trip to Nottingham.”
Nguyen was awarded the 2024 Marion B. Sewers Distinguished Scholarship for Undergraduates given to students who demonstrate an interest in the fields of biochemistry and molecular biology and enhance the diversity of science, according to the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB).
Awards are based on academic merit, demonstrated need, overcoming barriers, career and/or research goals, and substantial contributions to enhancing diversity and advancing the scientific field.
Nguyen’s application stood out because of her commitment to fostering scientific diversity through community service and her leadership in the sciences at the University of South Alabama.
Through the week and on the weekends, she spends time tutoring middle and high school students at the Wilmer Hall Children’s Home in math and science.
“I find it very important that these children have a strengthened foundation in their knowledge of math and science so that careers in these fields are viable options for them to pursue,” she said.
Nguyen also encourages discussion and collaboration among the diversity of students in the biomedical sciences department as a vice president of USA’s ASBMB chapter.
“As a first-generation American and college student, I find it necessary that we as a science community continue to invite those from marginalized communities so there is a continuation of these progressive ideas,” she said. “I personally continue this mission through assembling the pre-health social and collaborating with eight STEM-based student clubs with the intent of bringing students of various science fields together to strengthen and build a diverse scientific community.”
Among her mentors, she specifically expressed her gratitude to Phoibe Renema, Ph.D., the chapter’s faculty adviser and an assistant professor in the biomedical sciences department, and Glen Borchert, Ph.D., a professor of pharmacology at the Whiddon College of Medicine and a professor of biology in USA’s College of Arts and Sciences.
For Borchert, Nguyen’s continued success comes as no surprise.
“Anita continues to win national awards like these because in addition to maintaining academic excellence, she is already engaged in (and finding success at) graduate-level medical research,” he said. “Perhaps just as important, she has a real knack at conveying complex scientific ideas to nonscientists.”
The scholarship is named in honor of Dr. Marion B. Sewer, a professor of pharmacology at the University of California, San Diego, and former chair of the ASBMB Maximizing Access Committee (formerly Minority Affairs Committee). Sewer had a strong interest in mentoring students, particularly those from underrepresented groups.