CONWAY, Ark (February 25, 2013) - Nicholas Barnes, a 2008 Hendrix graduate, was selected as a Rolf C. Syvertsen Scholar for the 2012-2013 year at Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.
Barnes was one of six fourth-year classmates chosen by a faculty committee to receive the annual distinction of Syvertsen Scholars based on their academic achievement, leadership qualities, personal attributes and community involvement, were. The endowed award commemorates a former professor of anatomy, long-time dean, and beloved mentor of several generations of medical students at Dartmouth, who died in 1960.
Barnes has demonstrated his ability as both a leader and a compassionate physician throughout his time in medical school. He served as co-president of the Geisel chapter of the American Medical Student Association, and as chair of the Health Policy committee of that chapter, he organized a number of speaking events, including one by a former U.S. Senator. In the community, Barnes helped organize an effort to pair undergraduates and medical students with Alzheimer patients. He also volunteers with Art for Kids, a program which helps children with chronic illnesses create art for display at local galleries. In recognition of his compassion and humanism, his fellow students inducted him into the Arnold P. Gold Humanism Honor Society, the Geisel chapter of which he now co-leads.
Barnes chose to split his fourth year of medical school (i.e., to do an additional year) in order to travel extensively and broaden his medical experience. The recipient of the James C. Strickler Clinical Fellowship in Global Health from Geisel, Barnes took the opportunity to complete an elective in infectious diseases at the Muhimbili National Hospital, in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. He also presented a paper on the treatment of Psoriasis at the Mekelle University Hospital in Mekelle, Ethiopia. He has also traveled to Germany, India, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Thailand to participate in other clinical experiences.
Barnes will receive his medical degree from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth in June 2013.
Founded in 1876, Hendrix College is a national leader in engaged liberal arts and sciences education. For the fifth consecutive year, Hendrix was named one of the country's "Up and Coming" liberal arts colleges by U.S. News and World Report. Hendrix is featured in the 2012 edition of the Princeton Review as one of the country's best 377 colleges, the latest edition of Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think about Colleges, Forbes magazine's annual list of America's Top 650 Colleges, and the 2013 edition of the Fiske Guide to Colleges. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.