Scholarships help SIU medical students with rising cost of education

SIU School of Medicine provides more than 20 scholarships to students annually. The following students received six of these scholarships: Max Crouse, Dominic Phemister, Chelsea Still, Emily Palomaki, Erica Bohmer and Alexandra Barger.

SIU School of Medicine student Max Crouse is the recipient of the Dr. Eli and Claire Borkon Scholarship. Crouse, a first-year medical student, is the son of Mike and Dana Crouse of Carbondale. He graduated from Carbondale Community High School (2010) and the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana with a bachelors degree in molecular and cellular biology (2014). The Borkon Scholarship is awarded annually to an SIU medical student from southern Illinois. Borkon worked as an adjunct professor of physiology at SIU for more than 20 years before he was hired as assistant dean at the medical school in Carbondale.

Dominic Phemister, a first-year medical student, was awarded the Kurt Heisler, M.D., Scholarship. Phemister graduated from Webber Township High School (2006) and earned his bachelors degree in microbiology at SIU in Carbondale (2014). The Kurt Heisler Medical Student Scholarship Fund was the first scholarship established at the School of Medicine, and since its inception in 1976, the endowment has annually awarded a total of $92,680 in scholarship funds to 86 medical students. Heisler was a family medicine physician who practiced in southern Illinois until he retired in 1976.

Chelsea Still was awarded the Virginia J. Hertweck Memorial Endowment Scholarship. Still, a first-year medical student, is the daughter of Steve and Tammy Still of Mt. Sterling. She graduated from Brown County High School (2010) and earned a bachelors degree in biology at the University of Illinois in Springfield (2014). The Hertweck Scholarship, established in 2001 by Virginias husband, Wolfgang Hertweck, is given annually to an SIU medical student planning to enter the primary care field and who is from Schuyler, Cass or Brown counties or other rural areas.

Emily Palomaki was awarded the Dr. Hildegard C. Landecker Memorial Endowment Fund. Palomaki, a first-year medical student, is the daughter of Jon and Mary Palomaki of East Moline. She graduated from United Township High School (2010) and Valparaiso University in Indiana, where she earned a bachelors degree in biology and chemistry (2014). Palomaki is the 32nd recipient of the award, which is given annually to a freshman female medical student with high academic standing. The Landecker fund was established in 1982 by the late Manfred Landecker, Ph.D., who was on the political science faculty at SIU Carbondale, in memory of his mother, who was a pediatrician.

Erica Bohmer is the recipient of the Kate Burkhart Medical Scholarship Endowment. Bohmer, a second-year medical student, is the daughter of Mike and Sandy Wood of Granite City. She graduated from Granite City High School (2003) and SIU in Edwardsville, where she earned a bachelors degree in biology (2013). The Burkhart Scholarship was established in 2003 by Kate Burkhart Daniel, a 1938 graduate of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Her grandfather, James Monroe Burkhart, was a trustee of the university in the 1890s when it was called Southern Illinois Normal University. Her father, Carl Burkhart, was an 1897 graduate.

Alexandra Barger was awarded the J.S. Templeton, M.D., Memorial Scholarship. Barger, a first-year medical student, is the daughter of David and Kelly Barger of Murphysboro. She graduated from Murphysboro High School (2008) and Washington University in St. Louis, where she earned her bachelors degree in biology (2012). The Templeton Scholarship was established in 1993 by Harriss Malan of Carbondale and Jane Templeton Minton of DuQuoin, in memory of their uncle and father, Dr. James Scott Templeton. Templeton was a general practitioner who practiced in the Pinckneyville area for more than 60 years. He also was a founder of Pinckneyville Community Hospital.

Gifts received by the Southern Illinois University Foundation support the growth of the School of Medicine. Individuals interested in making a donation can contact the SIU Foundation office at 217-545-2955 weekdays or online at http://www.siumed.edu/foundation.

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Scholarships help SIU medical students with rising cost of education

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