Geisinger Commonwealth student leaders win awards at SNMA national conference

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine’s (GCSOM) chapter of the Minority Association of Premedical Students (MAPS) won the 2017-2018 Student National Medical Association (SNMA) national MAPS Chapter of the Year award. The group also won Chapter of the Year for MAPS Region 8, which includes Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia. The national Chapter of the Year prize is awarded to one chapter chosen from more than 100 chapters across the nation and the Caribbean that is involved in MAPS on the local, regional and national levels. The regional award is given to an outstanding chapter in a multi-state area. The chapter honored also complies with SNMA’s community service protocols, implements new and unique activities that enhance the chapter’s community service involvement and seeks mentoring from medical students and professionals.

The certificate awarded to the Geisinger Commonwealth students will be permanently displayed in the school’s Medical Sciences Building in Scranton. 

Also at the conference, Sotonye Douglas of Brooklyn, New York, president of the GCSOM MAPS Chapter, received the 2017-2018 SNMA National MAPS Member of the Year award. This award recognizes one individual out of thousands of MAPS members across the nation and Caribbean who is involved in MAPS on the local, regional and national levels. The winner implements new and unique activities that enhance the chapter’s community service involvement and is involved as a role model to others through mentoring and outreach. 

Members of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine’s Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students (MAPS)/Association of Multicultural Students in Medicine (AMSM) traveled to the SNMA conference to accept the awards and to network with both their peers and professionals in attendance. The conference was held March 28-April 1 in San Francisco.

“I am humbled and honored to have been named National MAPS Member of the Year. As president of the GCSOM chapter, I am proud of our group’s accomplishments, which include the school’s first Freedom Seder, advocating for funding for students to attend leadership and networking conferences, taking part in the school’s Super Science Saturday for Girls and creating ‘Pillows for Heroes’ for local children. Winning the Chapter of the Year award testifies to the hard work of both the MAPS and the AMSM executive boards. I am glad we were all honored together. I would like to thank faculty and staff at GCSOM, especially Dr. Vicki T Sapp, Dr. Diana Callender and Ida Castro for all of the help and mentoring they have provided through the year,” said Ms. Douglas.

The AMSM Executive Board members are:

• President - Sotonye Douglas
• Co-Vice Presidents - Cameron Rutledge and Kwame Quaye
• Treasurer - Christina Michel
• Secretary - Amitha Sundaram
• Diversity and Inclusion Liaison - Tiffany Atabansi
• Institutional Advancement & Communications Chair - Vanessa Nansamba 
• Student Engagement Committee Members - Cedric Jean-Philippe and Yvonne Maosa 
• Community Service Committee Members - Cynthia Okpala, Tutu Olowu and Jodell Cherubin  

The Executive Board for MAPS includes:

• President - Sotonye Douglas
• Vice President - Cameron Rutledge 
• Treasurer - Christina Michel
• Secretary - Amitha Sundaram
• Diversity and Inclusion Liaison - Tiffany Atabansi
• Institutional Advancement & Communications Chair - Vannessa Nansamba 
•  Student Engagement Committee Members - Cedric Jean-Philippe and Yvonne Maosa 
• Community Service Committee Members - Tutu Olowu and Jodell Cherubin 

SNMA chapters are based at allopathic and osteopathic medical schools throughout the nation. SNMA programs are designed to serve the health needs of underserved communities and communities of color. In addition, SNMA is dedicated both to ensuring that medical education and services are culturally sensitive to the needs of diverse populations and to increasing the number of African-American, Latino, and other students of color entering and completing medical school.

SNMA’s Annual Medical Education Conference (AMEC) is the organization’s premier event where more than 1,200 medical and pre-medical students gather at the nation's most diverse medical education conference.

About Geisinger
Geisinger is among the nation’s leading providers of value-based care, serving 1.2 million people in urban and rural communities across Pennsylvania. Founded in 1915 by philanthropist Abigail Geisinger, the non-profit system generates $10 billion in annual revenues across 134 care sites - including 10 hospital campuses, and Geisinger Health Plan, with 600,000 members in commercial and government plans. The Geisinger College of Health Sciences educates more than 5,000 medical professionals annually and conducts more than 1,400 clinical research studies. With 26,000 employees, including 1,600 employed physicians, Geisinger is among Pennsylvania’s largest employers with an estimated economic impact of $14 billion to the state’s economy. On March 31, 2024, Geisinger became the first member of Risant Health, a new nonprofit charitable organization created to expand and accelerate value-based care across the country.  Learn more at geisinger.org or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.