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ASU Alum Wins Top Honors at Oregon Medical School

July 15, 2010

Angelo State University alumnus Joshua Gene Kornegay recently received the Edward S. Hayes Gold-Headed Cane Award as the top graduate in his class during commencement ceremonies at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) School of Medicine in Portland, Ore.

A native of Snyder and graduate of San Angelo Central High School, Kornegay graduated summa cum laude from OHSU on June 1. He was chosen from 128 School of Medicine graduates for the Gold-Headed Cane Award, which “is presented annually to a member of the graduating medical class who has been selected for this high honor by a vote of his or her peers and teachers. The award is given to a student in recognition of compassionate devotion and effective service to the sick, with the conviction that its holder will forever epitomize and uphold the traditions of the true physician.”

While picking up his M.D. in emergency medicine, Kornegay also received the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Award and the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, and was honored as a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha National Medical Honor Society. He will now begin his residency in the Emergency Medicine Department at OHSU Hospital, where he is one of only 10 residents chosen from 854 applicants.

At ASU, Kornegay was a regular on the Dean’s List and participated in research projects with Dr. Bonnie Amos and Dr. Kelly McCoy in the Biology Department and Dr. Nick Flynn in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department. He also graduated summa cum laude from ASU in December of 2001.

Kornegay is the son of Dave and Melanie Love of San Angelo and Kenny Kornegay of Snyder. His grandparents are Ramelle Parsons and the late Herman Parsons of San Angelo, and Harold and Zola Kornegay of Snyder.

Oregon Health and Science University is Oregon’s only health and research university. It grants doctoral degrees in medicine, dentistry and nursing, and is the only academic health center in the nation with a school of science and engineering geared exclusively toward human and environmental health. Also a leading research institute, OHSU earns hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants annually. OHSU Hospital is recognized as one of “America’s Best Hospitals” by U.S. News and World Report.