From Cedric-Anthony Ngameni, a May 2010 graduate of the McWhorter School of Pharmacy, recognized earlier this month at the annual Rural Health Care Conference at the University of Alabama: 

 

I cannot begin to express the gratitude I feel towards the Samford experience. I believe I speak for most of my classmates when I say that what we learned, whether in the classroom or out serving in the community, affects our lives in very unique ways. The project for which I was recognized for was the topic of my fourth-year research project. It was first started seven years ago by Dr. Gary Bumgarner and a few students in Marion, Alabama (Perry County) to later expand to York, Alabama (Sumter County) with the help of Mr. Eddie Davis, owner of York Drugs. With  Dr Bumgarner and two of my classmates (Haydn Jackson and Charlie Greene), we drove to both towns on the first Saturday of each month from August 2009 to April 2010 to meet with a group of about 20 diabetic patients, first in Marion then York to discuss a range of topics from proper diet, lifestyle changes, medication counseling, and cholesterol and blood pressure monitoring with the goal of improving their condition. We started and closed each hour-long meeting with a prayer. It was amazing to see group dynamics develop among the patients in sharing their struggles and success in the fight against diabetes. I can honestly say that those experiences have made me a better and patient-focused health care giver. It is only my hope that the program will continue and even grow for years to come in order to initiate future Samford graduates to the rewarding challenges of rural health.  

  

The world is better because of the engagement of our students and graduates.