The American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) recently announced the recipients of the 2023 Sherry R. Arnstein Underrepresented Minority Scholarship. The scholarship was endowed by the Arnstein family to honor former AACOM Executive Director Sherry R. Arnstein’s legacy and to help current and new osteopathic students from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds fund their education. This year’s recipients include six individuals, including Alejandro Serru-Rivera from the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine.

“I am extremely grateful to all those who have nurtured and raised me into the man I am. I am also very fortunate and gifted for all the lessons bestowed upon me by the medical community and world at large,” said Alejandro Serru-Rivera, a first-year student at ICOM. “I hope to leave a lasting, deep, positive mark on the Hispanic community and to be able to close gaps in medical understanding and health inequities and facilitate healthy acculturation into our wonderful nation.”

The Sherry R. Arnstein Underrepresented Minority Student Scholarship was established in honor of Arnstein’s lifelong dedication to public service, social equity and justice. After the initial endowment, AACOM continued funding the program, which has grown steadily since its inaugural grants were awarded. Since 2012, AACOM has awarded more than $250,000 to 66 recipients.

“We are very proud that these students represent the next generation of osteopathic physicians and will be the future doctors advancing our nation’s healthcare system,” said AACOM President and CEO Robert A. Cain, DO. “Our country is facing a crisis and is in desperate need of highly trained and skilled physicians, particularly doctors of color and those dedicated to practicing in underserved and rural areas. These student doctors are committed to the osteopathic principles of serving all communities, particularly those most in need. There is no better way to honor the legacy of Sherry Arnstein.”