Monday, July 10, 2006

Thomson Scholar announced by Rotary (Record-Journal)

Senior Aaron Laviana, of Notre Dame Univer­sity, has been selected the 2006 Southington Ro­tary William S. Thomson Scholar and will be honored at the annual William S. Thomson Golf Scramble Dinner Aqua Turf Club on Wednes­day, July 12. The Thomson scholarships are for post-secondary (graduate or undergraduate) students who as seniors, were recipients of Southington Rotary Club scholarships.

Aaron Alan Laviana, a 2003 Southington High School graduate, will receive a $3,000 scholar­ship. Aaron is a senior at the University of Notre Dame double majoring in biology and econom­ics with a 3.77 grade point average. He plans to attend medical school with the aspiration of be­coming a doctor specializing in oncology. Aaron has interned at the UConn Health Center con­ducting colon cancer research as part of their graduate school fellowship program. He has had previous research experience at Yale University conducting skin cancer research.

“Part of the reason being a doctor appeals to me also deals with the field’s dualistic nature of combining intellectualism and humanism. Studying genomes to explain the fundamental principles of cancer is one thing: being able to apply this and deal with the delicate side of helping an individual is quite another. In a sense, being a doctor is exploring the artistic side of science, and my experiences of working in clinics have only reinforced this point.  Through interacting with numerous cancer pa­tients, some grasping for their last breaths of air and others indistinguishable from your average healthy teenager, I have learned the need to care for all aspects of a patient’s health. By attending medical school I hope to further learn how to meet the concerns of the patients and treat them according to their individual needs.”

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