Graduating McMicken Senior To Receive UC Presidential Leadership Medal Of Excellence

Payal Modi of Sugar Land, Texas, will earn a bachelor of science degree in biology and a minor in chemistry from UC. The Honors Scholar and Mid-East Honors Association regional representative plans to serve in Americorps before entering the UC Medical School in fall 2005. Modi has done research in cell biology at the UC Medical School, has participated in a summer medical and research training program at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and has worked as a medical assistant with the Heart & Vascular

Association of Houston. On campus, her contributions include active membership in the Chi Omega Fraternity, executive leadership in Caducea Premedical Society, and participation in the Racial Awareness Program (RAPP) to promote cultural awareness and understanding.  Her service involvement includes participating in the alternative spring break program in Carboneras, Mexico, and Appalachia, volunteering at a school for the deaf in India, and serving as a Red Cross Disaster Aid Volunteer during the Houston flood relief effort. The Cincinnatus Scholar is a recipient of the Cincinnati Women in Excellence and Spirit Together (CWEST) Scholarship Award, is president of the UC Mortar Board senior honor society, and is a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa national leadership honor society.

“Payal is a woman of depth, instinct and integrity,” says M.J. Woeste, assistant professor of communication. “Her level of performance as an Honors Scholar has been exemplary. This is demonstrated through her daily commitment to educational and professional aspirations and her dedication to community service. She has been actively engaged on campus in her role as the vice president for campus service with Alpha Phi Omega, coordinating the Valentine’s Day Dance that benefited special education students from the Tristate area. She has served as a committee chair for Relay for Life to recruit teams to walk in the battle against cancer. As far as excellence in academics, Payal earned her biology major and chemistry minor in three years – a colossal achievement.”

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