Meet Elizabeth Marhefka, a Kent State University biology and premed student whose exceptional dedication to community service and academic excellence has earned her the prestigious 2024 Scholar of the Year Award from the Akron Regional Interprofessional-Area Health Education Center (ARI-AHEC). Her inspiring journey through AHEC’s Scholar’s Program showcases her passion for medicine and a commitment to community engagement.
AHEC is a federally funded organization created in 1971 to increase the number of health students who train in underserved or impoverished communities. ARI is AHEC’s Northeast Ohio Regional sector and works to develop community connections while improving the quality of life for underrepresented populations.
“ARI-AHEC helps to develop and support community-based education for students in health profession academic programs, and to recruit underrepresented and disadvantaged persons into health-based careers,” said Kim Trowbridge, M.Ed., MCHES, CHC, director of ARI-AHEC. “Our AHEC Scholars certificate program is a two-year program that works with undergraduate and graduate students to offer educational and community experiences, specialized training, academic support, interprofessional opportunities, leadership opportunities and stipends.”
Students from a range of health professions programs in Portage and Summit Counties are eligible to apply for the ARI-AHEC Scholars Program.
To learn more about ARI-AHEC, visit: https://uakron.edu/ahec.
First Aid Drive for Akron and Kent Elementary Schools
Marhefka collaborated with ARI-AHEC and Phi Delta Epsilon, an international premedical fraternity that she is a member of, to host a local first aid drive for Akron and Kent elementary schools.
“Part of our mission in Phi Delta Epsilon is a dedication to philanthropy and service, so I am always looking for new ways to help the community,” Marhefka said.
With the help of Trowbridge and many donors, Marhefka and a team of both AHEC scholars and Phi Delta Epsilon members coordinated a successful first aid drive by producing 73 first aid kits to distribute among four elementary schools across Akron and Kent.
“Ellie was a leader in the project and worked hard to get those from both Phi Delta Epsilon chapters to work with AHEC Scholars,” Trowbridge said.
Marhefka’s Reflections and Bright Future
“My biggest takeaway is that there is so much more to medicine than just science classes,” Marhefka said. “It is really easy as a premed student to get bogged down by our difficult courses, but AHEC showed me the compassion, collaboration, and service that is really the heart of this field.”
Throughout Marhefka’s AHEC Scholar journey, she has been supported by Kent State and her peers within AHEC — but her mentors were the ones who above all else supported Marhefka through thick and thin, she said.
“My AHEC directors, Emily and Kim, were always available and willing to talk about any questions I had and would do all they could to bring any ideas I had to reality,” Marhefka said. “It was so nice to have someone who cared about how I was doing at the end of the day.”
Marhefka takes pride in the fact that she was able to maintain her GPA while balancing a full schedule, which included running track at Kent State, participating in AHEC, Phi Delta Epsilon and volunteering at UH Portage Medical Center. She will graduate in the winter of 2024 and plans to attend medical school to become a pediatrician. After graduation, she hopes to continue serving communities that need her help the most.
“My advice is that if you are going to do something, do it wholeheartedly — take every opportunity you can; it will only prepare you for your future,” Marhefka said. “AHEC and biology pre-med in general will provide you with the tools, but only you are responsible for putting in the effort to make it the best experience it can be.”
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Media Contact:
Jim Maxwell, 330-672-8028, JMAXWEL2@kent.edu