Fredonia extends UB medical school connection; eight graduates entering health professional schools
For the first time, a graduate of SUNY Fredonia will be enrolled in four consecutive classes at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo. In total, eight Fredonia graduates have been accepted and will attend health professional schools this summer or fall.
Laurel Finson, of Lakewood (’20, B.S., Biology, minors in Chemistry and Public Health), is continuing the long blue pipeline to the UB medical school. Her predecessors include Lily Dixon and Kevin Nickerson (second year), Mam Deng (third year) and Rebecca Hartling (fourth year).
Six Fredonia alumni are matriculating to medical, optometry and veterinary schools and another two are enrolling in physician assistant programs, according to Department of Biology Professor Ted Lee, who chairs Fredonia’s Health Professions Advising Committee.
Two 2018 graduates are among Fredonia’s newest medical school enrollees. Travis Briggs, of Oneonta (B.S., Exercise Science, minors in Criminal Justice and Psychology) will attend St. George’s University School of Medicine in Grenada, West Indies. He is Fredonia’s first student to attend a Caribbean medical school in recent years. Ryan Ruia of Forestville (B.S., Molecular Genetics, minors in Chemistry and Psychology) will attend SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse.
“It was a modest year for acceptances, although we will have a Fredonia graduate in each of the (last) four classes at the Jacobs School of Medicine at UB for the first time,” Dr. Lee noted.
Marina Kessler, of Fredonia (’20, B.S., Molecular Genetics) will attend The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine.
Carter Windoft of Lakewood (’19, B.S., Molecular Genetics, minor in Chemistry) will attend The Ohio State University College of Optometry.
Connor Dolce of Brocton, (’18, B.S., Biology, minor in Chemistry) will attend the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine.
The Physician Assistant Studies program at Mercyhurst University, Erie, Pa., is the destination of Maddison Heslink of Ashville, N.Y., (’20, B.S., Biology, minor in Chemistry) and Rachel Orth of Fairport (’19, B.S., Biology).
Lee noted that the Health Professions Advising Committee awarded two Kaplan MCAT prep course scholarships this past year; one was provided by Kaplan, the other was funded by the Health Professional School Preparation Scholarship Fund at the Fredonia College Foundation. The recipients were Brad Brown and Elizabeth Hahn. The Kaplan MCAT prep course retails for $2,499.
