Five WVU Students Awarded Scholarships for Volunteer Work Abroad
The Arthur Guyton Foundation will be helping to send 5 West Virginia University students to Nicaragua in March, 2016. As members of WVU's Global Medical Brigades, students Megan Casto, Thomas Clay Casto, Cayla Ann Vance, Taylor Skelton, and Jacob Skylar Richards received $200 each from the Arthur Guyton Foundation to assist in covering their costs. While abroad, the students will assist in patient triage, shadow physicians, and perform work in a pharmacy under direction of licensed pharmacists, according to the Global Brigades. The organization holds an important position in the continued wellbeing of under privileged communities worldwide, stating, "Global Brigades is the world’s largest student-led global health and sustainable development organization. As a secular, international nonprofit organization, we mobilize student volunteers and professionals to empower communities in developing countries with programs that improve quality of life while respecting local culture and improving the environment."
Each of the recipients is pursuing a degree path which will propel them into the health- or dental care fields upon graduation.
Megan Casto, a member of the Pre-Medical Club at West Virginia University intends to achieve an MS in Health Sciences before continuing to medical school.
Thomas Casto, a brother of Delta Tau Delta Gamma Delta and Chief Medical Officer of the Global Medical and Dental Brigades, is studying to become a pediatric cardiologist.
Vance is in her third year on the Dental Hygiene track and is looking forward to being the first member of her family to graduate college and to enter the healthcare field.
Skelton is a Pre-Occupational Therapy student and a participant in the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. She will be applying to the undergraduate/graduate program for Occupational Therapy at West Virginia University.
Richards is a junior Biology and German major at West Virginia University. Contributing to his résumé are an internship last summer in an ecology lab and a new research project he is conducting in a neurosciecne lab at West Virginia University.
Between Brigades, GMB retains a small number of certified professionals in the community so as to provide structure for continuing and sustainable care. These five award recipients along with other students from West Virginia University will fulfill a vital role in providing the large scale assistance the permanent physicians and dentists require throughout the year. The Arthur Guyton Foundation is pleased to be able to sponsor these students and the actions of the Global Medical Brigades.
-Photo courtesy of the West Virginia University chapter of the Global Medical Brigades
-Biography photos courtesy of award recipients
