The Colorado Medical Society Foundation (CMSF) continues its annual support for medical students in Colorado through two main scholarship programs. The foundation awards the Gilchrist Student Leadership Scholarship and the Rural Track Scholarship each year to students showing promise in leadership and a commitment to serving rural communities.
The Rural Track Scholarship is intended for students in good academic standing who are completing their first or second year in a rural medicine track at a Colorado medical school. The goal of this scholarship is to encourage future physicians to serve rural areas, where access to health care can be limited.
The Gilchrist Student Leader Scholarship provides financial assistance to third- and fourth-year medical students who have demonstrated significant leadership contributions within organized medicine.
This year’s recipients of the Rural Track Scholarship include Roopa Bhat, Rebecca Bolen, Isabella Contolini, Robert Tolson, and Conor Wallace. Each has shown dedication to improving health care access in underserved regions. For example, Roopa Bhat developed an app called When2Go to help rural residents determine when they should travel for hospital care. Rebecca Bolen founded Rural Roots: Healthcare Pathways to inspire rural high schoolers to pursue careers in medicine.
Isabella Contolini was influenced by mission trips and her experiences shadowing physicians, which shaped her commitment to rural medicine. Robert Tolson’s upbringing in Fort Morgan and exposure to health care through his mother motivated him toward service in tight-knit communities. Conor Wallace’s experiences with family members needing lengthy travel for treatment inspired his desire to address health care shortages in Eagle County.
The Gilchrist Student Leader Scholarship awardees are Sonia Abraham, Dakota Hitchcock, and Pritika Parmar. These scholars have contributed through advocacy and policy work aimed at improving patient outcomes and advancing equity within health care systems.
Sonia Abraham said her leadership journey began with volunteering at an underserved clinic and continued as she wrote policy for CMS and participated as a liaison at state health equity meetings: “Throughout medical school, she wrote policy for CMS and testified on critical patient and physician issues. As a liaison at CDPHE health equity meetings, she amplified student voices, believing that recognizing community gaps is vital to uplift and safeguard marginalized groups.”
Dakota Hitchcock highlighted her involvement with the American Medical Association (AMA) advocacy efforts: “Through AMA advocacy, she helped secure Medicaid funding for essential car rides to treatment. This experience solidified her commitment to advocacy in medicine.”
Pritika Parmar focused on linking research with clinical practice and legislation: “As a Colorado student delegate to the AMA, she supported policies to combat skin cancer and improve interpreter services for low-English proficiency patients. She is committed to advocacy and aspires to bridge the gap between research, clinical care and policy, ensuring equitable health care for all.”
By awarding these scholarships annually, CMSF aims both to support individual student achievement and address broader challenges facing Colorado’s rural communities through future physician leaders.
