Susan Vincent Memorial Scholarship

Each year, the Downeast Association of Physician Assistants (DEAPA) awards a $1,000 Susan Vincent Memorial Scholarship,in memory of fellow PA, Susan Vincent. The deadline for submitting this information each year is June 1st and should be sent to DEAPA (Contact Information)

Scholarship Requirements

  1. The student applicant must be a Maine resident at the time of acceptance into a PA Program and share a desire to work and serve in Maine upon graduation.
  2. The student must submit a letter of acceptance from an accredited Physician Assistant Program.
  3. The applicant is asked to submit a brief statement detailing why she/he deserves and needs this scholarship. (maximum length - 2 single-typed pages)
  4. The applicant should exemplify those qualities that Susan Vincent modeled during her life - against the odds, achieving goals set forth educationally and career-wise, while serving his/her community. Volunteerism was very important to Susan.

Background

Susan Vincent grew up in New Jersey and attended the Rutger’s Physician Assistant Program. PAs at the time could not practice in NJ, though this did not stop Susan from pursuing her goal to become a PA. Prior to becoming a PA, she and her hus- band at the time both volunteered with their community EMS. Volunteer work and giving back to her community was very important to Susan.

Susan Vincent lived and worked as a physician assistant in Maine during the early 1980’s and served on the DEAPA Board of Directors during that time. She worked at the University of Maine Cutler Health Center with a focus on family medicine. She became aware of the high cost of health care and made it her focus to practice preventative medicine with a mind toward cost effective provision of care.

Susan loved the outdoors, enjoyed hiking and camping, and was a veteran of Walt Abbott’s Wilderness Canoe Course at the University of Maine. She was an avid bi- cyclist and also enjoyed singing with the University of Maine chorale group. While in the university setting, she began taking courses to prepare herself for the next step in her career with a goal to attend medical school. She then attended the University of Vermont College of Medicine and nearly completed her residency in Pediatrics when her previously diagnosed malignant melanoma returned. Despite her illness, she continued to study and was accepted into the Pediatric Oncology Fellowship Program just before her death.

DEAPA honors Susan Vincent through this scholarship for her zest for life and strong determination to reach her goals despite all odds. She enjoyed life to its full- est and encouraged others to do so and to give back to the community unselfishly. This Association feels her example will inspire many to achieve set goals and to become a strong and caring member of the health care team.


The following is a listing, by year, of the recipients of the scholarship:

2011 Nicole Wheeler University of New England
2010 Amy Hanscom Northeastern University
2009 Angela Chase University of New England
2008 Gordon Murphy ($1,000) University of New England
2007 Cynthia Thomas ($1,000) Shenandoah University, Virginia
2006 Nathan Hayes ($1,000) University of New England - Maine
2005 Diana Blake ($1,000) University of New England - Maine
2004 Lisa R. Brown ($1,000) Yale University School of Medicine - Connecticut
2003 Sara Roberts ($1,000) University of New England - Maine
2002 Sara E. Dube ($1,000) University of New England - Maine
2001 Timothy J. Kelly ($1,000) University of New England - Maine
2000 Megan E. Yuill ($1,000) Gannon University - Pennsylvania
1999 Susan S. Hathaway ($1,100) University of New England - Maine
1998 Michael D. Gross ($1,000) University of New England - Maine
1997 Stacey Day ($1,000) University of New England - Maine
1996 Charles J. Roth, III ($1,000) University of New England - Maine
1995 Blue Karnofsky ($500) Northeastern University - Massachusetts
1995 Stephanie Wollerscheid ($500) Duquesne University - Pennsylvania
1994 Betsy A. Cook ($500) Rochester Institute of Technology - New York
1994 Alison J. Bureau ($500) Duquesne University - Pennsylvania