Profiles

For Sophomore Ambassador, the NHSC Mission Has Made All the Difference

Dr. Cynthia Huff has entered 2005, her second year as an NHSC Ambassador, with a new outlook on the NHSC Scholarship Program. "When I first became involved with the NHSC, it was because I wanted to help my students who needed financial assistance," she says. But after attending an NHSC conference last year, her focus changed. "Now I talk to the students in a different way. I tell them if they have financial need and are truly committed to helping people who don't have access to health care, then I have a program for them. But it's only for people who are truly committed." Read more...

Swinging the Pendulum Back to Primary Care

Pediatrician Joseph Zanga really didn’t need to add anything to his schedule. He was already busy juggling his part-time practice at Pitt County Memorial Hospital in North Carolina with his job as assistant dean of Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, and somehow had managed to strike the perfect balance—with recognition as the Jefferson-Pilot Distinguished Professor in Primary Care—despite his numerous responsibilities. Read more...

Ambassador Blends Goal of Increasing Minority Enrollment with NHSC Mission

For Les Howard, having a sense of mission in one's life is inextricably tied to community and responsibility. This is what he learned growing up disadvantaged himself. It is how he lives his life, and it is the single-most important message that he brings to the students under his careful watch. As program director of the San Joaquin Valley College (SJVC) Primary Care Physician Assistant (PA) Program he sees himself perfectly positioned to pass on the values and resourcefulness that have inspired his own remarkable life. For Howard, the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) is one of his most important allies in the task of sending the best and brightest of his graduates to care for California's underserved communities.Read more...

Ambassador Blends Goal of Increasing Minority Enrollment with NHSC Mission

Dr. Donna Hodnicki, director of Georgia State University’s (GSU) Master’s Program in Nursing, has been involved with the NHSC in some capacity since 1988. Currently, as GSU’s NHSC Ambassador, she meets with all students accepted into the nursing program at the beginning of their academic career. Prior to assuming the Ambassador role 2 years ago, Hodnicki served on NHSC’s National Advisory Council (NAC), where she participated on the review board for the Student/Resident Experiences And Rotations in Community Health (SEARCH) program. Additionally, she chaired the NAC Clinical Subcommittee. As a result, Hodnicki brings an insider’s understanding of the NHSC and its mission to her current work with GSU’s students and the campus community in Statesboro, Georgia. Read more...