College of Medicine Convocation Ceremony to be Held on Saturday
Rockford, Ill., -- Four years of hard work and determination will culminate Saturday, April 30, as graduating seniors walk across the stage at the Coronado Theatre for convocation. The University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford will host their ceremony at 11:00 a.m.
The class of 2011 selected Taylor D. Dennison to deliver the class remarks.
A traditional hooding ceremony will take place symbolizing the awarding of the degree and recognizing academic achievement in higher education.
During convocation, the College will honor Atisak Sapying, MD, assistant professor of clinical family medicine, with the Distinguished Teaching Award. The Distinguished Service Award will be bestowed upon Michael Glasser, PhD, associate dean for the National Center for Rural Health Professions and research associate professor of medical sociology. Male Genitourinary Workshop Group will be the recipient of the Distinguished Community Award.
College of Medicine at Rockford Student Awards
James E. Rebel Award
(To be announced)
This award is presented in memory of James E. Rebel, a member of the Charter class, who died following an automobile accident during his senior year. The recipient, chosen by the senior class, exemplifies Rebels personal characteristics of dedication and enthusiasm for learning medicine and personal sensitivity towards patients, fellow students, and others.
Dr. Assir Daniel DaSilva Scholarship
Bruce A. Ulrich
This award was established in memory of Dr. Assir Daniel DaSilva, a Class of 00 College of Medicine at Rockford graduate, who was killed while doing an international elective in Brazil his senior year. The recipient exemplifies DaSilvas outgoing personality and sense of humor, intellectual curiosity, dedication to medicine, excellent rapport with and sensitivity to patients, and his appreciation for diversity.
Gary Button, MD, Rural Primary Care Award
Emilee J. Bocker
This award is named in memory of Dr. Gary Button, a graduate of the medical school and family practice residency program in Rockford. Button was a longtime family physician in Harvard, Illinois, and a faculty member in the department of Family and
Community Medicine and the Rural Medical Education (RMED) program. The award is given to a student who exhibits the qualities and characteristics of Dr. Button, is dedicated to a career in primary care, and committed to practicing in a rural community.
Dr. L.P. Johnson Scholarship
Adelaide H. Robinson
This award is in honor of Dr. LeBaron Paul Johnson and is presented to an outstanding senior who has chosen to pursue a career in family medicine. The student selected will have an exceptional aptitude for all aspects of family medicine.
Winnebago County Medical Society Award
Aditya P. Devalapalli Akhil B. Shah
This award is presented to seniors who demonstrate a desire and ability to integrate patient care with community service, and have shown interest in taking an active role in organized medicine.
Department Awards
Medicine
Outstanding Performance on Medicine
Sarah J. Atkinson
Benjamin L. Nick
Jason G. Bill
Emilee J. Bocker
Taylor D. Dennison
Aditya P. Devalapalli
Brittany A. LaVoy
Luis D. Lomeli
Matthew A. Mason
Antony Minasaghanian
Elizabeth R. Pareigis
Ritbune Prakobkit
Pediatrics
Donald H. Wortmann Pediatric Award
Emilee J. Bocker
Surgery
Outstanding Performance on Surgery
Jason B. Gill
Taylor D. Dennison
Mansi M. Kothari
Matthew A. Mason
Among Students Choosing a Surgical Career
Taylor D. Dennison
Ryan E. Fitzgerald
Hadyn M. Hollister
Underserved Pathway Program
Sarah J. Atkinson
Aditya P. Devalapalli
Rocio De La Torre
Mansi M. Kothari
Gene X. Maya
Diana Metropulos
Victoria L. Shlensky
University of Illinois College of Medicine Student Awards
Charles Spencer Williamson Award (Medicine)
Ritbune Prakobkit
David Mortimer Olkon Scholarship (Psychiatry)
Allison L. Giordano
Excellence in Emergency Medicine Award
Austin J. Lamb
Excellence in Family Medicine Award
Taylor D. Dennison
Excellence in Obstetrics and Gynecology Award
Victoria L. Shlensky
Excellence in Pediatric Medicine Award
Diana Metropulos
Granville A. Bennett Award
Emilee J. Bocker
James Scholar Award
Ritbune Prakobkit
Otto Saphir Scholarship (Excellence in Pathology, Junior Year)
Benjamin L. Bick
Tom C. Reeves Memorial Award (Outstanding Classmate, Junior Year)
Aditya P. Devalapalli
Alpha Omega Alpha (Honor Medical Society)
University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford
Jason G. Bill*
Taylor D. Dennison*
Hadyn Hollister
Ritbune Prakobkit*
*inducted as a junior
Graduation with Honors
University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford
Jason G. Bill
Taylor D. Dennison
Hadyn M. Hollister
Ritbune Prakobkit
Gold Humanism Honor Society
Arnold P. Gold Foundation
Benjamin L. Bick
Jason G. Bill
Emilee J. Bocker
Rocio De La Torre
Nicholas K. Kim
Brittany A. LaVoy
Diana Metropulos
Whitney M. Sunseri
University of Illinois Alumni Association Awards
Student Leadership Award
Aditya P. Devalapalli
Akhil B. Shah
Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award
Arnold P. Gold Foundation
Diana Metropulos
Golden Apple Faculty Teaching Awards
Chosen by the Class of 2011
Isaac H. Cha, PharmD (Pharmacology, M2 Year)
Clinical Assistant Professor
Department of Family and Community Medicine
Errol C. Baptist, MD (Clinical Clerkship, M3 Year)
Clinical Professor
Department of Pediatrics
Joseph J. Vicari, MD (Clinical Clerkship, M4 Year)
Clinical Assistant Professor
Department of Medicine and Medical Specialties
Atisak Sapying, MD (Primary Care Experience)
Assistant Professor of Clinical Family Medicine
Department of Family and Community Medicine
Class of 2011 (Name, Hometown, Education, Specialty, Residency)
Olanrewaju O. Adedokun
Mequon, Wisconsin
Cornell University
Sarah J. Atkinson
Washington, DC
Tulane University
General Surgery
University Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio
Benjamin L. Bick
Bloomingdale, Illinois
University of Illinois at Chicago
Internal Medicine
Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education, Rochester, Minnesota
Jason G. Bill
Buda, Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Internal Medicine
Washington University, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri
Emilee J. Bocker
Lanark, Illinois
Illinois Wesleyan University
Family Medicine
University of Illinois College of Medicine (Dixon-Rural), Rockford, Illinois
Ryan D. Boente
Carlinville, Illinois
Butler University
Internal Medicine
Case Western MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Rocio De La Torre
Chicago, Illinois
Loyola University
Family Medicine
MacNeal Memorial Hospital, Berwyn, Illinois
Taylor D. Dennison
Naperville, Illinois
Michigan State University
Orthopaedic Surgery
Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education, Rochester, Minnesota
Aditya P. Devalapalli
Raleigh, North Carolina
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Internal Medicine
Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education, Rochester, Minnesota
Ryan E. Fitzgerald
Bethany, Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Orthopaedic Surgery
Summa Health System, Akron City Hospital, Akron, Ohio
Clayton T. Ford
Harrisburg, Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Family Medicine
Deaconess Hospital, Evansville, Indiana
Allison L. Giordano
Hilton, New York
Dartmouth College
Psychiatry
Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, Park Ridge, Illinois
Jesse Guardado
Tinley Park, Illinois
University of Illinois at Chicago
General Surgery
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Charline S. Han
South Barrington, Illinois
Tufts University
Ophthalmology
Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals Eye Institute, Cleveland, Ohio
Case Western Reserve University (Preliminary Medicine), Cleveland, Ohio
Hadyn M. Hollister
Joliet, Illinois
University of Saint Francis
General Surgery
Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois
Nicholas K. Kim
DeKalb, Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Internal Medicine
University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, Madison, Wisconsin
Mansi M. Kothari
Aurora, Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Internal Medicine
University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois
Austin J. Lamb
Downs, Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Texas Chiropractic College, Doctor of Chiropractic
Emergency Medicine
University of Illinois, St. Francis Medical Center, Peoria, Illinois
Brittany A. LaVoy
Centennial, Colorado
University of Colorado
Colorado State University, MS
Pediatrics
Phoenix Childrens Hospital, Maricopa Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Jeanne Lee
Chicago, Illinois
University of Illinois at Chicago
Internal Medicine
California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, California
Luis D. Lomeli
Chicago, Illinois
Wesleyan University
University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, MPH
Internal Medicine
Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education, Rochester, Minnesota
Matthew A. Mason
Johnston City, Illinois
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
Internal Medicine
Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina
Gene X. Maya
Portage, Indiana
Indiana University Northwest
Ranan A. Mendelsberg
Chicago, Illinois
University of Illinois at Chicago
General Surgery
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
Diana Metropulos
Long Grove, Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Rosalind Franklin University, MS
Pediatrics
University of North Carolina Hospitals, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Antony Minasaghanian
Burbank, California
University of California, Los Angeles
Diagnostic Radiology
Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda, California
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Preliminary Medicine), Los Angeles, California
Elizabeth R ta Pareigis
Coal Valley, Illinois
University of Iowa
Internal Medicine
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, Iowa
Amit S. Patel
Freeport, Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, MS
Internal Medicine
Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Ritbune Prakobkit
Skokie, Illinois
University of Chicago
Internal Medicine
University of California Los Angeles Medical Center, Los Angeles, California
Adelaide H. Robinson
Edwards, Colorado
Williams College
Family Medicine
University of Colorado at Swedish Medical Center, Denver, Colorado
Prateek Sanan
Carpentersville, Illinois
Illinois Institute of Technology
Diagnostic Radiology
University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Advocate Lutheran General Hospital (Preliminary Medicine), Park Ridge, Illinois
Akhil B. Shah
Naperville, Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Obstetrics-Gynecology
University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas
Prit J. Shah
Bourbonnias, Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Anesthesiology
Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois
Boston University Medical Center (Preliminary Medicine), Boston, Massachusetts
Victoria L. Shlensky
Deerfield, Illinois
Northwestern University
Obstetrics-Gynecology
Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, Park Ridge, Illinois
Adrian Singson
Bettendorf, Iowa
Loyola University
Internal Medicine
Ball Memorial Hospital, Muncie, Indiana
Kevin H. Sun
Roseville, California
University of California-San Diego
Internal Medicine
Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, San Jose, California
Cassandra H. Sung
Libertyville, Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Pediatrics
Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda, California
Whitney M. Sunseri
Monroeville, Pennyslvania
Penn State University
Pediatrics
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Bruce A. Ulrich
Grand Chain, Illinois
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
Family Medicine
Mountain Area Health Education Center, Asheville, North Carolina
Vladimir Urbin
Skokie, Illinois
Loyola University
Preliminary Surgery
University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Edward R. Walker Gallego
Escondido, California
California Baptist University
Orthopaedic Surgery
University of California San Francisco, Fresno, California
Shih-Yee Mimi Wang
Lisle, Illinois
University of Illinois at Chicago
Obstetrics-Gynecology
White Memorial Medical Center, Los Angeles, California
Richard Jonathan Willes
Salt Lake City, Utah
Brigham Young University
Pediatrics
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, Iowa
Cristina E. Zelaya
Springfield, Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
In Memory of
Kindra Jean Westendorf was a member of the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford Class of 2011 and the Rural Medical Education Program (RMED) program. Kindra loved her family, friends, and life. Her classmates will remember her bright personality, kindness, and positive outlook. An award is being established in her memory recognizing her uniqueness and her service to those around her. Although Kindra is not physically here to graduate with the Class of 2011 today, her presence will always be among them.
The University Of Illinois College Of Medicine at Rockford, Illinois has served the area since 1971 as a regional academic health science center.
For more information, please contact Cynthia M. Hall at 815-395-5920.