The 2006 Ambassador Scholars pose with President Cigarroa. (L-R) Dustin Williams, Medical School; Tony Morlandt, Dental School; Cherie Albertson, School of Allied Health Sciences; Bevin O’Connor, School of Nursing; Nicole Baganz, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences; and President Cigarroa
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There was standing room only Thursday, April 20 at the annual Ambassador Scholarship presentation. Five students from the Health Science Center’s respective schools were selected on the basis of student leadership and scholarship to represent the Health Science Center at a variety of campus and community events. The scholars were awarded $1,000 scholarships from the Ambassador Scholarship Fund, which is supported by the Health Science Center’s President’s Council.

The 2006 Ambassador Scholars are: Cherie Albertson, School of Allied Health Sciences; Anthony “Tony” Morlandt, Dental School; Nicole Baganz, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences; Dustin Williams, School of Medicine; and Bevin O’Connor, School of Nursing.

“We applaud your commitment to academic excellence, leadership, and service– values found at the heart of our school,” said Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D., president. “We’re confident that you will represent us well and will be outstanding ambassadors for our five schools and Health Science Center.”

Cherie Albertson earned a Bachelor of Science degree in human biology from the University of Texas at Austin— all in three and a half years and maintaining a GPA of 3.7. At UT, she was a Big XII Scholarship Athlete, an All-American Athlete and a National Qualifier for swimming. In addition to these honors, she was awarded the Athlete Scholarship for NCAA Division I and the Ronald and Jacque Ehrig Endowed Memorial Scholarship. She was also named to the Big XII Commissioners Honor Roll, National Society of Collegiate Scholars and Golden Key International Honor Society, and was a Natural Sciences Dean Scholar.

At the Health Science Center, Albertson has excelled academically. During her first year as a respiratory care student, she made a 4.0 GPA and the dean’s list, and has been elected president of her class.

But Albertson’s work does not stop there. She volunteers with the Pregnancy Assistant Center, where she was trained to help women of all ages deal with unexpected pregnancies, and at the ICU at the Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital in Houston.

Tony Morlandt, Dental School Ambassador Scholar, accepts the award from President Cigarroa. Morlandt’s wife was there to share the special moment with her husband.

Anthony “Tony” Morlandt is a native of South Texas, having grown up in Floresville. In high school, he developed an interest in biology and pursued his undergraduate degree at Baylor. He always knew he wanted to enter the health professions, and decided dentistry was his highest calling.

Morlandt is now a third-year dental student and maintains a GPA of 3.8. He has received the dental dean’s travel award two years in a row and the Omicron Kappa Upsilon Outstanding Freshman in Research award. Among the many professional organizations of which he is a member, Morlandt is the vice-president-elect of the American Association of Dental Research National Student Research Group, and is the president of the San Antonio chapter. In addition to presenting research in Hawaii, Maryland and Florida, he co-authored an article published in the Journal of Periodontology and was the lead author on two articles published in the Journal of Dental Research.

But what is most admirable is Morlandt’s spirit of “giving back.” Morlandt volunteers as a Sunday school teacher, and for the past three years he has made medical mission trips to Pierdas Negras, Mexico. This service made such a lasting impression upon him that, when he becomes a dentist, he will continue to use his skills to provide care for needy families.

Nicole Baganz graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire and a Master of Science degree from Midwest College of Oriental Medicine.

Baganz is currently a second-year doctoral student in the department of physiology and is the recipient of the Bennie Schreck scholarship. And according to Brad Rothberg, Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of physiology, Baganz is outstanding and he says that her data will make significant inroads into stress-related disorders. Her research has been presented in Washington, D.C. and will soon be published in the Journal of Neuroscience and the Journal of Neurochemistry.

Not only is Baganz a stellar scholar, she is also very active on our Health Science Center campus. Among her various activities, Nicole shines through serving as a student adviser and as a student representative on the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. She is also a member of the Society for Neuroscience.

Her supervising professor, Lynette Daws, Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of physiology, also speaks very highly of her. According to Dr. Daws, Baganz has it all – she is “no stranger to speaking in public, and presents herself with poise and maturity.”

Dustin Williams was born and raised in Cleburne, Texas. He is a 2003 graduate of Texas A&M University, where he graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical science. Williams says he is fascinated with emergency medicine, and during his time at A&M, he received his EMT certification. After graduation, he volunteered at San Ignacio La Loma Luz Hospital in Belize for three and a half months.

As soon as he arrived at our Medical School, Williams became an active leader for his class and for the Health Science Center. An efficient communicator and an effective “team player,” Williams was elected as a class treasurer two years in a row. In addition to this, Williams reorganized the EMT student association, where he has served as president for the past two years.

Williams has also excelled academically. At the end of the 2004-2005 school year, his GPA of 4.0 earned him a ranking of number one in a class of 213 people.

Bevin O’Connor is a second semester nursing student and grew up in Rosenberg, Texas. Ten years ago, O’Connor enlisted in the Navy as an electronics technician, and was selected as the honor graduate for her division. While she was stationed in Hawaii, she was selected to be a member of a high profile honor guard to represent the United States at the appropriate ceremonies as the remains of military service personnel were recovered in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. In the military, her community service ranged from volunteering as a Boy and Girl Scout troop leader to cleaning Hawaii’s beaches to coordinating a sexual assault victim’s advocate program.

After serving in the military, O’Connor achieved excellence in academics. She enrolled at St. Phillip’s College, where she maintained a 4.0 GPA, and was on the dean’s list every semester.

O’Connor joined the Health Science Center in fall of 2004, and is also on the dean’s list. She serves as a clinical liaison, and is an active member of the Mary Mahoney Nursing Student’s Organization, which fosters an academic environment to enhance the recruitment and retention of African-American students into the school and into the nursing profession.

Contact: Tina Luther
Phone: (210) 567-3077
E-mail: luthert@uthscsa.edu