Meredith Walsh, RN, one of the winnners of the Student Community Engagement Award from the Colleges of Worcester Consortium.
The Graduate School of Nursing will take the spotlight on behalf of UMass Medical School when the Colleges of Worcester Consortium (COWC) recognizes and celebrates the outstanding community engagement of faculty and students at its member institutions. Associate Professor of Nursing Carol Bova, PhD, will receive the Faculty Community Engagement Award for her community-based research activities and clinical practice with Worcester patients infected with HIV. And GSN student Meredith Walsh, RN, will be honored for founding the Worcester Refugee Assistance program (WRAP) for refugees from Burma.
For more than two decades, Dr. Bova, who in 2003 became the first GSN recipient of the University of Massachusetts President’s Public Service Award, has worked to improve community-based clinical care and quality of life for one of Worcester’s most vulnerable populations. Walsh co-founded WRAP and in 2009 received support through a UMMS Learn and Serve grant, which facilitates service and service-learning opportunities for UMass students. Since then, WRAP has become an invaluable resource to improve health and access to care for the community of refugees from Burma living in Worcester.
Bova and Walsh will receive their awards, along with faculty and students from the other institutions of the COWC, on Tuesday, March 26 at Worcester State College.
Related links on UMassMedNow:
WooFood founders win community engagement award
MD/PhD student honored by Colleges of Worcester Consortium for community work
