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First-year Physician Assistant Studies (PA) student Emily Weekes has received recognition as Ohio’s Outstanding Airman of the Year and will go on to compete at a regional level for the same title. The Air National Guard, a branch of the United States Air Force, nominates airmen across six categories to receive this recognition.

Emily Weekes, a first-year Physician Assistant Studies student.
Emily Weekes, a first-year Physician Assistant Studies student.

Weekes joined the PA program after work with Ohio’s 178th Wing Medical Group as an aerospace medical technician. She is from Dayton, Ohio, and is enlisted in the Ohio Air National Guard and will reach five years of service in April 2019.

After graduating from The Ohio State University, Weekes completed Airman Leadership School at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska, where she received an academic achievement award. Last July, Weekes served a three-month active guard reserve tour and works full time completing physicals, blood draws, and exams for deployers. Following the tour, Weekes performed health exams on returning deployers.

Weekes is one of twenty incoming students who are set to graduate from the PA program in December 2020. The mission of the PA program is to promote high-quality, accessible, patient-centered health care. The program also aims to recruit non-traditional students, with special attention to North Carolina residents and veterans.

The PA program is housed in the UNC School of Medicine Department of Allied Health Sciences.