33 Graduate from AACC Physician Assistant Program

All 33 students in this year’s graduating class of Anne Arundel Community College’s Physician Assistant (PA) certificate program not only earned the AACC PA certificate, but they also are candidates for a Master of Medical Science degree from St. Francis University of Loretto, Pa.

AACC honored the PA students with a recognition and awards ceremony Aug. 1, in the Robert E. Kauffman Theater of the Pascal Center for Performing Arts on the Arnold campus, 101 College Parkway. The master’s degree option has been offered through an agreement between St. Francis and AACC that requires master’s candidates to take additional courses while they are studying for the AACC PA certificate.

The faculty selected two students for special recognition. Jennifer Birchenough of Silver Spring received Dean’s Award for having the highest cumulative grade-point average.  The Faculty Award went to Candice Welkie of Baltimore, who was recognized as the student who best exemplified the code of ethics of the PA profession.

Inductees to Pi Alpha for academic excellence were Reyadh Al-Banna of Arnold, Victoria Pace of Severna Park, Kacey Pivonski of Baltimore and Jeffrey Russell of Ambler, Pa.

The students selected Jennifer Birchenough of Silver Spring to receive the Clinician’s Clinician Award for professional integrity and clinical excellence. They also gave the 2013 Clinical Preceptor of the Year award to Eva Belew, PA-C, a graduate of AACC’s PA program from the class of 2000, who works in the Employee Health division at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore.

Delivering the keynote address was Cherilyn M. Hendrix, D.H.Ed., M.S., PA-C, who graduated from AACC’s PA program in 2003 and then worked with the program from 2008-2012. She now is the academic director and an assistant professor in the PA program of Nova Southeastern University in Orlando, Fla., on the faculty of CME Resources Inc. in Chicago, Ill., and a physician assistant with Aloma Urgent Care in Winter Park, Fla.

The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant accredits the PA program, which offers enrollment by competitive selection to students with a bachelor’s degree or higher. Graduates provide medical care under the supervision of a licensed physician and are eligible to sit for the national certification exam. For program information, visit www.aacc.edu/physassist.

The graduates are listed with Maryland residents first, alphabetically by hometown, and other graduates listed alphabetically by state, then hometown. The graduates are:

Maryland

Jill Hersberger, Emily Monaco and Tracy Tullier of Annapolis; Reyadh Al-Banna of Arnold; George Iliev of Beltsville; Kristy Fogle, Sean Lanehart, Kacey Pivonski and Candice Welkie of Baltimore; Craig Doxey and Anil Patel of Columbia; Lilit Vardanyan of Gaithersburg; Namat Said of Glen Burnie; Rita Anu of Greenbelt; Sarah Webster of Keymar; Becky Luke and Tami McKinney of Mt. Airy; Kelly-Anne Dooley of Pasadena; Kristyn Magoon of Pomfret; Marla Muha of Severn; Victoria Pace of Severna Park; Jennifer Birchenough and Calvin Lee of Silver Spring;

Arizona

Lorelei Raymundo of Gilbert;

Georgia

Pratik Modi of Tucker;

New York

Rachel Goldstein from Albany; Lauren Behan of Binghamton; Jonathan Mullen of Manlius;

Pennsylvania

Jeffrey Russell of Ambler;

Texas

Virgust Dykes of Bay City;

Utah

Brad Young from Heber;

Virginia

Ashley Martin from Norfolk; and,

Washington, D.C.

Gillian Athey.

About Anne Arundel Community College

Anne Arundel Community College is an award-winning, fully accredited public two-year institution serving approximately 53,000 students each year through classes offered at more than 100 sites in Anne Arundel County or online. AACC offers national and regional studies leading to a degree, certificate, industry credential, transfer to a four-year institution or career enhancement, personal enrichment and lifelong learning.