The Cleveland Clinic’s Office of Civic Education Initiatives has been working with students in the Northeast Ohio area for years, offering them innovative programs, connections and internships to help them on their way to careers in medicine.
So it’s nice to see when one of their graduates receives an award. Ohio State junior and Clinic Civic Education Initiative graduate Alexander Chaitoff has been awarded a Harry S. Truman Scholarship. This esteemed honor is only awarded to 54 students a year from a pool of 587 nominated applicants.
Alex is also a graduate of Solon High School and is currently pursuing a double major in microbiology and political science. A Presidential Scholar and member of the Honors Collegium, he is conducting research in the College of Public Health under Dr. Thomas Wickizer, studying racial disparities in seeking treatment for mental illness. Alex also spent two years studying characterization of a novel riboswitch in the microbiology lab of Dr. Tina Henkin. He is a co-founder and Director of Research for the Pure Water Access Project, a non-profit studying the implementation of water filters in developing nations. In addition, he has interned at the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solution and serves as a Vice President for the Global Health Initiative, a student group dedicated to action and awareness of health issues.
Alex plans to obtain an MD and a Master of Public Health before pursuing a career as a cardiologist and researcher of minority health disparities. He is only Ohio State’s sixth Truman Scholar, and the only one from Ohio.
Each Scholarship provides up to $30,000 for graduate study. Scholars also receive priority admission and supplemental financial aid at some premier graduate institutions, leadership training, career and graduate school counseling, and special internship opportunities within the federal government. Recipients must have junior standing, be US citizens, have outstanding leadership potential and communication skills, be in the top quarter of their class, and be committed to careers in government or the not-for-profit sector.
In the past 10 years, Ohio State has produced only four Truman Scholars.
Please join us in congratulating Alex!
http://www.clevelandclinic.org/civiceducation