Two freshmen receive first Karam scholarships for B.S./M.D. students

University of Akron incoming freshmen Preston Massey and Priya Midha are the first recipients of the Dr. Harvey A. and Annetta Karam Endowed Scholarship for B.S./M.D. Students.

Massey, of Louisville, is a former running back and linebacker for Louisville High School. He volunteered during his junior and senior years at Stark County Humane Society and Trillium Family Solutions. This future physician says, “The knowledge and ability to connect with so many different people while making a difference in their lives will be truly rewarding.”

Midha, of Copley, graduated from Revere High School with a 4.23 grade point average. A member of the Honors College, she also is a Lisle M. Buckingham Scholar.

In June 2009, she attended the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine in Boston. She has volunteered at many area hospitals, including Akron General. Midha says she hopes one day that, "I will be able to serve as a physician at hospitals in this area."

The Dr. Harvey A. and Annetta Karam Endowed Scholarship for B.S./M.D. students provides an annual award to two worthy undergraduate students enrolled at UA. Scholarships are awarded to students selected by a B.S./M.D. faculty screening committee and are renewed to students who earn a 3.4 GPA at the end of their first year. As the endowment grows with time, the B.S./M.D. program will distribute full scholarships to as many students as possible.

Annetta Karam expressed her excitement about the selection of Massey and Midha as the inaugural Karam B.S./MD. Scholarship recipients.

"The University of Akron helped make my dream of helping students through a scholarship come true," she says. "Education is very important, especially to someone who can't afford it. The scholarship gives me the opportunity to help students while helping make my life and the memory of Harvey more meaningful."

About the B.S./M.D. Program

The University of Akron, Kent State University, Youngstown State University and Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED), formerly known as Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine and Pharmacy (NEOUCOM), offer, as a consortium, a six- or seven-year B.S./M.D. program that consists of two phases: undergraduate curriculum and medical school study at NEOMED. To learn more, visit: NEOMED.

Media contacts: Andrea Ehasz, ace17@zips.uakron.edu, or Denise Henry, 330-972-6477 or henryd@uakron.edu.