Class of 2026 students recognized at awards ceremony

The Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine celebrated the achievements of the graduating Class of 2026 during its annual Commencement Awards Ceremony, recognizing outstanding students for excellence in academics, research, leadership, service and clinical care ahead of commencement weekend.

The ceremony honored award recipients across academic departments, clinical disciplines and distinguished student categories while also celebrating the class’s impressive 98 percent residency placement rate.

“This weekend is all about our graduates,” said Kenneth Johnson, D.O., vice president for health affairs at Ohio University. “The Class of 2026 has given us so much to celebrate, from exceptional academic achievement to extraordinary match results and a deep commitment to serving patients and communities.”

“We are incredibly proud of the compassion, professionalism and excellence demonstrated by this class,” said Interim Senior Dean Jennifer Gwilym, D.O. (‘03).

Departmental award recipients included:

• Primary Care Award — Shannon Reardon 
• Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine Award — Samantha Thai 
• Biomedical Sciences Award — Emily Cushing 
• Social Medicine Award — Cindy Huynh 
• Specialty Medicine Award — Jessica Vitrano 

Core Discipline Award recipients included:

• Emergency Medicine Award — Isaiah Comnick 
• Family Medicine Award — Sean Diment 
• General Surgical Medicine Award — Jonathan Peters 
• Internal Medicine Award — Olivia Kuns 
• Obstetrics & Gynecology Award — Sarah Fagbamigbe 
• Pediatric Medicine Award — Abigail Prendergast 
• Psychiatric Medicine Award — Matthew Troyer 

Distinguished Student Award recipients included:

• Dunigan Award for Osteopathic Advocacy — Colin Wilson 
• Global Health Award — Christine Kinstedt 
• Outstanding Research Awards — Samuel Borgemenke and Christopher Walsh 

• Kirkland Award for Professionalism — Winston Torres 

  

Clinical Site Outstanding Student Award recipients included:

• Adena Health System – Alyson Johnson
• Central Ohio – Austin Gerwig
• Cleveland Clinic Akron General Hospital – Jessica Vitrano
• Greater Cleveland – Kayleigh Queiser
• Eastern Unit – Abigail Prendergast 
• Fairfield Medical Center – Finley Kocher 
• Firelands Health – Jaret Shook
• Holzer Health System – Kaitlyn Hoffmann
• Kettering Health – Rebecca Kramb
• Kettering Health – Jasanvir Sandhu
• Memorial Health System – Anja Cannon
• Mercy Health St. Rita's Medical Center – Olivia Dillman
• Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center – Kenneth Jenkins III
• OhioHealth O'Bleness Hospital – Sean Diment 

The ceremony also recognized students receiving major scholarship honors:

• Athens Campus All-Star Award — Matthew Dugan 
• Cleveland Campus All-Star Award — Marisa Vislay 
• Dublin Campus All-Star Award — Jonathan Peters 

Recipients of the Senior Dean’s Endowed Scholarship were:

• Alyson Johnson (Athens) 
• Colin Wilson (Cleveland) 
• Prosper Ssekayombya (Dublin) 

The Osteopathic Leadership and Service Award was presented to Jonathan Peters and included a $25,000 scholarship to support his medical education.

In addition, Micaela Abbomerato and Sean Diment were recognized as recipients of the National Health Service Corps Scholarship, supporting future service in underserved communities.

The ceremony concluded with recognition of the families, spouses and loved ones who supported students throughout medical school, including presentation of the Donna Jones Moritsugu Memorial Award to Chelsea Bray for her unwavering support of her partner during medical school training.