10 minute read
Simon PA Scholars provide
Vanessa Mendoza
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SIMON PA SCHOLARS: FRONT-LINE CARE WHERE IT’S NEEDED MOST
BY DAWN BONKER
A $9 million gift from the Simon Family Foundation provides primary care to underserved communities, “changing lives for good.”
At first glance, the ceramic Snoopy figurine atop Vanessa Mendoza’s desk at home may seem like just a bit of whimsy. But the special memento from a departed friend means much more to the Chapman University alumna and graduate student. The endearing beagle of Peanuts fame was a gift to Mendoza from an elderly man she visited regularly as a hospice volunteer. She keeps it close as a reminder of what it means to make a difference in people’s lives, something she looks forward to doing with her own life as she enters Chapman University’s Physician Assistant program. “One of the things he told me that last time I spoke with him was that if he could do anything before he passed away, he would dress up in a Snoopy outfit and visit CHOC Children’s hospital. Here he was in his 90s and the last thing he wanted to do was give back,” says Mendoza ’19 (MS ’23). “That really says something about him, and that’s the kind of person I want to be as well.” Thanks to a $9 million gift from the Simon Family Foundation, Mendoza and other PA students are well on their way to achieving their dreams. The Chapman biology major experienced childhood homelessness, helped raise her younger siblings and still managed to graduate magna cum laude. Now she is one of the inaugural recipients of a Simon Scholar PA Program Scholarship. Each year for the next five years, the foundation’s $9 million gift will support full scholarships for 10 students from underserved communities with limited resources.
The donation will have a far-reaching impact, says Sheryl Bourgeois, Ph.D., Chapman executive vice president and chief advancement officer. While the Simon Family Foundation gift helps meet the growing demand for more front-line health care providers, it also opens doors of opportunity to talented and academically successful students who might otherwise struggle to realize career dreams because of family hardships and financial adversity.
Left: Simon PA Scholar Vanessa Mendoza ‘19 (MS ‘23) says she’s grateful for the program, which “will allow me to give back to my community.”
CHANGING THE TRAJECTORY, MEETING IMMEDIATE NEEDS
“The impact of the commitment made by Ron and Sandi Simon to provide full-ride scholarships for these physician assistants will be tremendously long-lasting,” Bourgeois said. ”Not only have they changed the trajectory for these individuals who have come from underserved populations and might never have been able to afford this education without taking on debt, but they have inspired them to pay forward the altruism shown; most plan to stay in Orange County and serve those in need. This is what philanthropy is really about: changing lives for good.” Those outcomes are at the heart of Ron Simon’s passion for this program, and dovetail with the aims of the Simon Scholars Foundation. Through this and other scholarship programs, the foundation has helped more than 1,100 Southern California students excel in high school and enter college with the support they need for continued success, including at Chapman University. This newest initiative to support students seeking physician assistant degrees grew as Simon learned of the need for more frontline medical professionals. Through research and conversations with physicians at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, he discovered how PAs are playing a significant role in the delivery of health care. A tour of Chapman’s PA program facilities and teaching labs at Rinker Health Science Campus in Irvine impressed him beyond measure.
“That put me over the edge to make the commitment,” he said. “We’re excited to provide these opportunities for students so they won’t be burdened by debt and they get a chance to serve local communities where the care is needed most.”
Dr. Michael Brant-Zawadzki, the Ron and Sandi Simon Executive Medical Director at Hoag’s Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute, says physician assistants are vital in health care today as care needs grow. Moreover, the Simon PAs will help correct health care inequities. “We’ve all heard about disparities of care in underserved communities. Having physician assistants that come from these communities will help address that disparity, given their passion for care in the communities they come from. The outreach and assistance they provide will be a great asset,” BrantZawadzki said.
Indeed, the goal of guiding students from underserved communities into careers
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as physician assistants persuaded 31-year physician assistant Gerald Glavaz to join Chapman as its associate dean of the Simon Scholar PA Program Fund. Previously, Glavaz was chair of the Physician Assistant Sciences program at Loma Linda University. “The effect will be profound. Our Simon PA Scholars have committed to going to work where they are needed. They will have a positive impact on improving access to care in these underserved areas, and that care will come from culturally competent providers,” Glavaz said.
BRINGING CARE TO RURAL AND MINORITY COMMUNITIES
The program also aligns with a chief goal of Chapman’s Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, which houses the PA program, said its founding dean, Janeen Hill. “Through the generosity of Ron and Sandi Simon, our PA program is now playing an important role in addressing health care disparities in Orange County by educating a health care workforce committed to working in the county's underserved minority and rural communities,” said Hill, Ph.D.
That’s long been Mendoza’s goal, too. All along her educational path, beginning in high school when she started a club that held bake sales to help pay for women’s mammograms, she has been determined to work in underserved populations. With her can-do spirit, she was determined to make it happen, regardless of the cost. The Simon Scholarship allows a bit of ease in a young life that has already been so challenging. “This program will allow me to give back to my community, upon completion,” Mendoza said. “It will help give a little girl with big dreams and little guidance or finances an opportunity to become successful and leave her mark on the world.”
– Ron Simon
Simon Family Impact Spans Disciplines
The Simon Family Foundation supports the development of future leaders from Chapman in many fields and disciplines. Most recently, a $5 million gift names the 28,000-square-foot Ron and Sandi Simon Center for Dance, slated for a May 2022 opening. The historic Villa Park Packinghouse buildings on Cypress Street will house the new teaching space, adapted by historic-preservation architects for the new use. Among its features will be a dedicated area for providing physical therapy to dance students. Launched in 2015 as a partnership between the university and Orange High School, the Simon STEM Scholars program serves talented students from underserved communities who plan to major in a STEM discipline – science, technology, engineering or math. Students receive unique mentorship to prepare them for admission to Chapman, as well as a full scholarship. The support begins in students’ high school years with leadership development, training in life skills and advising to help them prepare for college.
HERE TO LEND A HAND.
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Our volunteers are essential in helping us provide the Chapman Experience for every Chapman Family member. We have an array of fun, high-impact volunteer opportunities for every kind of volunteer in almost every department on campus:
• Mentors • Event support • Panelists • Committees and task forces • Speakers • Career assistance
Our new Volunteer Portal makes it easier than ever to get involved. Whether you live close to campus or across the globe, we have in-person and virtual opportunities for you.
To learn more, go to Chapman.edu/volunteer
Considering the painful history of race and social justice, there is no end of ways for students to finish such a sentence of discovery.
BY DAWN BONKER
Nurturing conversations that fill in voids and challenge us as Americans was the driving goal behind “Engaging the World: Leading the Conversation on the Significance of Race.” The semester-long initiative in Chapman’s Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences included a virtual film series, guest speakers, memorial observances, an art exhibition, panel discussions and more. Wilkinson’s First-Year Foundations courses focused on the theme as well. We thought one way to hear how it went was to let students start the conversation by offering some of their takeaways from “Engaging the World.” With what they know now, more conversations are sure to follow.
–TATIANA HAYNES
From “Black Feminisms” taught by Angelica Allen, Ph.D. assistant professor, co-director of the Africana Studies minor program From “Yellow Power to Yellow Peril,” taught by Stephanie Takaragawa, Ph.D., associate dean of academic affairs
From “Anti-Racism, A Continuous Journey From the Civil Rights Movement to Black Lives Matter and Beyond,” taught by Presidential Fellow in Peace Studies “Prexy” (Rozell W.) Nesbitt, Ph.D.
"I didn’t know that the racial wealth gap between a typical white family is nearly 10 times greater than that of an African American one. This goes to show that the deep-rooted racism in this country continues to hinder the opportunity for African Americans to be equally treated and grow in society." – RILEY DAY
"I didn't know that there is no middle ground between being racist and anti-racist. The middle ground is a place of privilege, and it doesn't exist. I tried staying in this middle ground, and I have realized I can't just stand by and not be racist myself while at the same time I let others get away with unacceptable behavior.” – KATE BROWN
– BERNADINE CORTINA
From "Intelligence, Race, Music, and Sports,” taught by Keith Howard, Ph.D., associate professor, associate dean for graduate education and academic affairs.
"I didn't know how differently sports media outlets portrayed and publicized the criminal cases of NFL players Michael Vick and Ben Roethlisberger; Vick's was given significantly more attention and his behavior was thematically attached to a subculture of black violence, while Roethlisberger (white) did not face the same scrutiny.” – RACHEL BERNS
From a film festival screening and discussion of “In a Beat,” a short drama portraying the challenges of a Black boy with autism. From the “Engaging the World” event, “To Remember and Reflect: In Memory of Kristallnacht 1938,” co-hosted with Rodgers Center for Holocaust Education
"I didn’t know that the only reason 10-year-old Thomas Buergenthal survived the atrocities of the Auschwitz death camp was because of the generosity of fellow captive, Odd Nansen, a Norwegian architect and son of famed explorer Fridtjof Nansen.”
– SYD BREWSTER
“I didn't know that individuals who are both neurodiverse and Black experience distinct obstacles because of societal prejudice against their intersectional identities.” − LAUREN BRAMLETT
From “Hostile Terrain 94,” a pop-up art project of toe tags placed on a map, showing the locations where remains of migrants have been found near the U.S. southern border. Students hand-wrote the toe tags.
– MICHAEL PEPITO
− MARISA QUEZADA
From “Grime: a Journey Into the Roots of a Black British Music Form,” a guest lecture by scholar Monique Charles, Ph.D.
