Recognizing Student Leadership

John Shaw

Date

April 4, 2023

Topics

For these scholars, it’s about making their classmates – and the IHP – a better place.

For most MGH Institute students, putting in the long hours needed to complete the school’s rigorous academic programs takes up their entire bandwidth as they work towards finishing their degree and preparing for a new career in healthcare.

But then there’s a select few who feel the urge to do more, those who join a student club, who volunteer in between the classroom and clinicals, who find the time to do just a little extra that can make a difference not only for themselves but impact their classmates as well as the IHP.

That’s what the annual Student Leadership Awards presentation is all about.

paula smiles and makes a fist pump gesture with a microphone in the other hand — President Paula Milone-Nuzzo praised the leadership of IHP students.

jessica stands at a podium she wears a red top with black flower print — Manager in the Center for Career and Professional Development of the Office of Student Affairs and Services Jessica Upton welcomed the audience.

photo of a room with lots of people seated around tables — An audience of more than 100 students, faculty, and staff attended the event in Shouse.

olivia wears a black turtleneck shirt and stands at the podium — Olivia Giles, SLP '23, NSSHLA President, offered a student reflection on leadership.

helen stands with a microphone — Helen Van Riel, BSN ’23, spoke about being a class representative.

marisa holds a microphone — Student Government Association VP Marisa Cicione, GC ’24, announced the recipients of the SGA’s award.

amanda holds a black and gold plaque and has her arm around jillian — The Be the Change award was presented to JEDI Council student representatives Amanda Thai (lc) and Jillian Salis (rc), who are flanked by President Paula Milone-Nuzzo and Dean of Student Services Jack Gormley.

kevin holds his plaque — Advisor of the Year: Dr. Kevin Berner, an assistant professor of occupational therapy, pictured with IHP President Paula Milone-Nuzzo

reamer with paula and Jack — Dr. Reamer Bushardt, provost and vice president for academic affairs (center) pictured with IHP President Paula Milone-Nuzzo and Dean of Student Services Jack Gormley.

danielle has a cream top and olivia has a black turtleneck and they both hold the award plaque — SLP students Danielle Cartier (2nd from right) and Olivia Giles (3rd from right), with President Paula Milone-Nuzzo and Dean of Student Affairs Jack Gormley, accepted the Outstanding Impact Award on behalf of the IHP chapter of the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA).

miranda holds the award while julia stands beside her — Miranda Milunsky, DPT ’25, (center) and Julia Forbes, OTD ’25 (right), shown with President Paula Milone-Nuzzo, accepted the Community, Access, Responsibility, and Engagement (CARE) Award on behalf of IHP Cares 4 Kids.

“We come together to express our gratitude for all our student leaders who have sacrificed their time and talent to forge a vibrant sense of community and belonging for all of us here at the IHP,” said Jessica Upton, manager in the Center for Career and Professional Development of the Office of Student Affairs and Services, which put on the March 29 event.

Ten individual students and one student organization received awards for their efforts. In addition, one staff member and two faculty were recognized for supporting students.

Matthew Reinemann, a first-year student in the Master of Physician Assistant Studies program, was one of two students who received the Outstanding Student Leader award.

“The most important part about receiving this award is that I have a great team of people who work with me,” said Reinemann, president of the Physician Assistant Student Society and co-recipient with Master of Science in Nursing student Leah Rothchild. “I'm really proud to be able to represent such a strong group of students who are really making a name for themselves and building strong careers.”

The importance of developing leadership skills as a student is something the school’s president, Dr. Paula Milone-Nuzzo, referenced in her opening remarks.

“Each of you have taken the opportunity to hone your leadership skills through the experiences that you've had at the IHP,” she said. “You get the leadership experience that you need in order to grow. You have used these opportunities to develop skills, learn about yourself and unpack the world around you. You've learned that you have a voice that contributes to the conversation, ideas that move issues forward, and the will and the passion to make important changes in our society. And you have also learned that because you've had these experiences, you have a responsibility to continue to make change on behalf of those who are unable to.”

The “Be the Change” award recognizes one student or group of students for efforts that have enhanced the school’s campus climate by leading work against all forms of oppression including ability, gender expression or identity, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, veteran status, or any other form of injustice. It went to Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology student Emily Kamarow for her advocacy of diversity issues, and three JEDI Council class representatives for their work in promoting Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion core competencies into academic programs’ curricula.

“We will present to faculty the model we created for them to utilize and incorporate it into their lessons,” said Amanda Thai, who will graduate this year from the Master of Science in Nursing program, “so we all will have an idea of how to navigate and combat systemic racism and other types of oppression.”

Fellow nurse practitioner classmate Kiki (Rebecca) Broadhurst and first-year Doctor of Occupational Therapy student Jillian Salis received the award along with Thai.

Students Olivia Giles, MS-SLP ’23, Helen van Riel, BSN ’23 and Marisa Cicione, GC '24, also gave remarks during the event.

2023 Student Leadership Recipients

Emerging Leader Award: Shoshana Weiner, DPT ’24

Community, Access, Responsibility, and Engagement (CARE) Award: Kanisha Ffriend, MSN ’24, and IHP Cares 4 Kids - Shoshana Weiner, DPT ’24, president; Valerie Zaid, DPT ’25; Miranda Milunsky, DPT ’25; Yi Ja Loh, MS-SLP ’24; Brittny Dematteo, MS-Nursing ’25; Julia Forbes, OTD ’25; and Kathryn Donohue, GC ’23

Be the Change Award: Emily Komarow, MS-SLP ’23 and JEDI Council Student Representatives Amanda Thai, MS-Nursing ’24, Kiki (Rebecca) Broadhurst, MS-Nursing ’24, and Jillian Salis, OTD ’25

Outstanding Impact Award: The IHP chapter of the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA)

Innovative Spirit Award: Mackenzie Wooters, GC ’23, and “How to PT?” sharing series (created by Daniel Winters, DPT '24 and Yuchao Wang, DPT '24).

Outstanding Student Leader of the Year Award: Matthew Reinemann, PAS ’24 and Leah Rothchild, MS-Nursing ’24

Advisor of the Year: Dr. Kevin Berner, an assistant professor of occupational therapy

Student Government Award: Dr. Reamer Bushardt, provost and vice president for academic affairs, and Vanessa Desrochers, campus services manager