More than 175 people, including dozens of esteemed donors, joined more than 100 student scholars from the Department of Allied Health Sciences; student scholars represented eight programs within the department.
Programs represented at the brunch included:
- Division of Clinical Laboratory Science
- Division of Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling
- Physician Assistant Studies
- Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
- Division of Physical Therapy
- Neurodiagnostics and Sleep Science
- Division of Radiologic Science
- Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences
Highlights included a student speaker, Norma Villegas, a senior undergraduate from the Division of Clinical Laboratory Science. She is a UNC Hospital Volunteer Association scholar.
After high school, Villegas said she realized attending college was not financially possible. She attended a local community college to save up for tuition and eventually transferred to UNC-Chapel Hill.
“As a clinical laboratory science student, I get to study a variety of fields, such as transfusion medicine, chemistry, and microbiology in a diverse academic environment,” she said. “I want to thank all of our donors for their generous support. It allows us to continue promoting this excellence as students in our coursework and as graduates as we go into our communities.”
Stephen Hooper, PhD, chair of the Department of Allied Health Sciences and associate dean in the UNC School of Medicine, provided opening remarks.
Hooper expressed his sincere appreciation for the support from the donors. “Scholarship support allows opportunities to take shape. Our students aim to serve North Carolina,” Hooper said. “Our students are leaders in rural areas and provide top-tier health care to those who need it most.”
In 2016, graduates of programs in the DAHS began work in 16 North Carolina counties, in addition to other locations.
The annual brunch was held at the Rizzo Conference Center in Chapel Hill.