Zhi-Shan Hsu, Tice Harkins, Miranda Rep, Justina Warnick, Michael Kovalick and Evan Calvo, all members of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's MD Class of 2024, helped Scranton Tomorrow clean up the downtown. Working in the rain, the students cleaned out the planters found in several blocks of Scranton's downtown area and planted fresh flowers that will beautify the city all spring and summer!

In the spring of his first year at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM), medical student Scott Schoenborn was walking past a "Be the Match" table in the school lobby and decided to stop. "It was some paperwork and a cheek swab that would be used to determine a potential match for bone marrow donation. It took just a few minutes and I forgot about it soon after," he said. Eighteen months later that casual decision to stop had a huge impact on someone a continent away.

At an orientation event held March 24, four students from Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's Master of Biomedical Sciences (MBS) program became the first volunteers in a new program that will aid elderly patients at GEisinger South Wilkes-Barre.

A Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine faculty member and two students helped The Black Scranton Project unveil its Black History Month programming by raising the Pan-African Flag at an annual event held at Scranton City Hall.

A group of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine students planned and organized the school's annual Freedom Seder, held on March 23. Freedom Seders intertwine the archetypal story of the Israelites' deliverance from slavery in ancient Egypt with more modern liberation struggles.

On March 19 99 students at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (Geisinger Commonwealth) learned their residency placements during the National Resident Matching Program's "Match Day," an event at which all fourth-year M.D. students around the country simultaneously open their envelopes to learn where they will spend the next three to seven years training in specialties. Residencies typically begin July 1.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) student, Michael Yi, a member of the MD Class of 2023 will present at the National Residency Matching Program's (NRMP) virtual meeting, "Transition to Residency," being held Oct. 16-17.

On Saturday, Jan. 2, Student Engagement Leaders (SEL) held a Holiday Game Night. The event was geared to GCSOM students who were spending holidays alone or away from family, as well as those looking for a fun night to spend with friends. SEL gave students the option to sign up in teams or to be placed individually and randomly into a team.

The HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) has notified Eshiemomoh Osilama, a member of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's MD Class of 2024, that he has been accepted to its highly competitive Research and Mentorship Program (RAMP), a scholar program for African American/Black and Latinx medical students.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (GCSOM) Master of Biomedical Sciences (MBS) Class of 2021 held elections for Graduate Student Council. Eight MBS students were elected to leadership positions.

The Lycoming County Medical Society awarded a $3,000 scholarship to Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine student Tyler Bogaczyk of Williamsport. A member of GCSOM's MD Class of 2023, Bogaczyk is also a participant in the Abigail Geisinger Scholars Program. Acceptance to the program allows students to graduate without tuition debt, provided they become Geisinger physicians upon completion of residency training.

The Pennsylvania Medical Society Alliance has bestowed an Alliance Medical Education Scholarship (AMES) upon Amelia Mackarey of Clarks Summit, a fourth-year medical student at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM). The scholarships will be awarded at the Pennsylvania Medical Society House of Delegates Meeting in Hershey on Saturday Oct. 26.

A group of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine students representing the school's Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association and South Asian Society led the planning and organization of GCSOM's first Lunar New Year's celebration Jan. 22.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (GCSOM) chapter of the Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) recently participated in LMSA's Policy Summit held in October in Washington, D.C. Fourth-year student, Yoseph Aldras, who served as president in his second year, served as the conference co-chair of LMSA's national Policy Committee. In that position, he helped plan the summit, developed promotional materials, worked with invited speakers and reviewed policy resolutions drafted by attendees at the three-day event.

Three Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) students joined a Geisinger Health Foundation team working to address the problem of childhood obesity. The students' poster presenting the program, Pediatricians Prescribing Play: A Unique and Scalable Approach To Combat Childhood Obesity, won third place in the Pennsylvania Medical Society's 2019 Student, Resident and Fellow Poster Contest.

Maureen Pesavento presented the John R. & Maureen J. Pesavento Community Service Award to fourth-year Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) medical student, Rachel Polinski. Mrs. Pesavento created the award through the Scranton Area Foundation to recognize a graduating medical student with a deep commitment to community service. GCSOM requires students to perform 100 hours of community service. Dr. Polinski logged more than 347 hours of service, working as a camp counselor and teaching sign language. Dr. Polinski will now pursue a residency in emergency medicine at West Virginia University School of Medicine.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine bestowed its annual end-of-year awards upon deserving students and faculty during a ceremony in May. At the ceremony, five stundets recevied military commissions.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) conferred 99 doctor of medicine (MD) degrees upon students who compose Geisinger Commonwealth's graduating Class of 2019. Commencement ceremonies were held Sunday, May 5 at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre. Greetings were offered by Mr. Robert J. Dietz, PE, GCSOM board chair and by Jaewon Ryu, MD, JD, Geisinger interim president/CEO. Holly J. Humphrey, MD, was keynote speaker. Dr. Humphrey is president at Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation and former dean for medical education and Ralph W. Gerard Professor in Medicine atThe University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. Sarah Hayek, MD, GCSOM Class of 2015 offered greetings from GCSOM's growing Alumni Society.

Thirteen medical students at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine were inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) on March 14.

Dr. Margrit Shoemaker, assistant chair of internal medicine and councilor, Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Theta Chapter of Pennsylvania, announced that 17 members of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's (GCSOM) MD Class of 2019 have earned induction into the highly respected national medical honor society.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) conferred master of biomedical sciences (MBS) degrees upon members of its Class of 2018 at commencement ceremonies held May 6.

Students from Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) were well represented at the Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED) annual House of Delegates meeting in Hershey on Oct. 26. During the meeting, PAMED's Medical Student Section held elections for statewide offices. Several GCSOM students were elected to leadership positions.

Student leaders from Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (Geisinger Commonwealth) attended the CONQUER Student Leadership Conference at Marywood University on Nov. 12. Amy Kline, MA associate director of Geisinger Commonwealth's Center for Learning Excellence was also a presenter at the conference. The purpose of the conference was to help students hone their leadership skills. The keynote speaker at the event was Eric McElvenney, a Marine who was injured by an IED in Afghanistan, who discovered that the technique he used to reach the finish line at the Ironman Triathalon could be used to surmount challenges every leader faces. Student leaders at Geisinger Commonwealth cited several things they took away from the conference, among them: the power of resiliency, the importance of maintaining a positive outlook and goal-setting. They also learned ways to be agents of social change. "I didn't know what to expect, but this conference actually helped me answer some questions I had been thinking about regarding the world and my place in it," said one student leader.

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute's (HHMI) Medical Research Fellows Program has selected 79 talented medical and veterinary students to conduct in-depth, mentored biomedical research. Among the fellows chosen is Jessica Briscoe of Houston, now completing her third year of medical school at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine.