AHEC Scholars

IE AHEC SCHOLARS 

The Inland Empire Area Health Educational Center (IE AHEC) Scholars is a HRSA-funded program that enables high-potential students in the health professions to explore primary care with an emphasis on community health and interdisciplinary practice in medically underserved communities. The IE AHEC meets the needs of workforce development and education in the San Bernardino and Riverside Counties by hosting educational opportunities such as trainings, internships, and also contributes to the development of health professions workforce. Curriculum modules present diverse learning opportunities that include webinars, case-based learning, self guided research, and direct skills development. The students ultimately gain a certificate in Community Health at the end of the program, along with applicable experience in community and public health. The IE AHEC has participated in the program and enrolled students since 2018.

Prospective Scholars Must Be:

Interested in primary care and community health,
Motivated to address health needs in vulnerable, underserved communities, and
Enrolled in a health program which is at least 2-year-duration (the program must have clinical training requirements and end in a degree/certificate). See a list of eligible health professions program.

 

See the scholars program curriculum, yearly schedule and application process
See our frequently asked questions (FAQ)

 

Interested in the IE AHEC Scholars program? Contact us!

To view our 2021-2022 IE Scholars Program Wrap-Up, please click here.

 

 

Local University Partnerships:

                                                                                                    

University of California Riverside, School of Medicine                                              California State University, San Bernardino, College of Natural Sciences

 

                                                                                                               

California University of Science and Medicine, School of Medicine                    Loma Linda University

 

Azusa Pacific University

 

– Reach Out

 

– El Sol Neighborhood Educational Center

 

Currently, the Inland Empire AHEC partners with eight local educational institutions: Azusa Pacific University, California State University San Bernardino (CSUSB), California University of Science and Medicine (CUSM), El Sol Neighborhood Educational Center (NEC), Loma Linda University (LLU), Reach Out, University of California Riverside School of Medicine (UCR SOM), and Western University of Health Sciences.

The newest partnership was developed in early March 2023 with El Sol Neighborhood Educational Center. The AHEC team presented for their community health worker (CHW) program about our services as a health consortium and our scholars program. They shared information and distributed AHEC flyers. About half of the class chose to apply and we graciously accepted those that were eligible. Moving forward, we will be presenting for their upcoming cohorts, but will also connect them with opportunities that may be valuable to them, such as job opportunities at our members’ sites and community partners seeking to educate their employees to become CHWs. Additionally, we are working closely with Reach Out, a local community organization to provide pipeline opportunities to high school students. In particular, we are collaborating together to lead a pilot program that will educate high school students upon graduation to be certified CHWs.

All of our local partners share our vision and ultimate goal, to encourage students to continue working in our underserved communities and help address the need for health professionals within the Inland Empire. If you are interested in partnering up with us, or would like to join our AHEC Scholars program, please contact the IE AHEC Center Director – Athena Montiel (amontiel@chaisr.org).

Scholars Spotlight:
2021 - 2022 Scholars

UCR White Coat Ceremony 2021                                                           
Otilia Popa – UCR SOM c/o 2025, MD Candidate                                  Brian Sangalang – UCR SOM c/o 2025, MD Candidate     

                                                                                                     
Gabrielle Celaya – Loma Linda University                                               Navya Chauhan – UCR SOM c/o 2025, MD Candidate

                                                                                                           
Aliyah Qurashi – UCR SOM c/o 2025, MD Candidate                          Cloie Chiong – UCR SOM c/o 2025, MD Candidate

                                                                                                 
Angela Baraiya – West Coast University c/o 2022                               Loraine Hermosa – West Coast University c/o 2023

                                                                                         
Vanessa Castro – West Coast University c/o 2023                                Genevieve Otuonye – West Coast University c/o 2024

2020 - 2021 Scholars

                                                                       

Brian Mcree – UCR SOM c/o 2023, MD Candidate                                      Jasmine Mitchell – CSUSB MPH Candidate 

Saba Sami – CSUSB MPH Candidate                                                           

                                                                            

Crystal Witherspoon – UCR SOM c/o 2023, MD Candidate                         Maria Macias – UCR SOM c/o 2022, MD Candidate 

                                                                                              

Prathyusha Dasari – UCR SOM c/o 2024, MD Candidate                         Elizabeth Celaya-Ojeda – UCR SOM c/o 2024, MD Candidate 

                                                                                                           

Eunique Tucker – Loma Linda University c/o 2026, PsyD                              Violeta Covarrubias – UCR SOM c/o 2024, MD

                                                                                     

Diane Marin – Loma Linda University c/o 2024, PsyD                      Amanda Saddlemire – Loma Linda University c/o 2024, PsyD

                                                                                               

Joe Chen – California School of Science and Medicine c/o 2023, MD                Ojas Deshpande – California School of Science and Medicine c/o 2023, MD

                                                                                                               

Mariam Ghattas – California School of Science and Medicine c/o 2023, MD      Nancy Luong – California School of Science and Medicine c/o 2024, MD

                                                                                                     

Alexandra Gacuya -California School of Science and Medicine c/o 2024, MD         Kylee Borger – California School of Science and Medicine c/o 2023, MD

                                                                                           

Rachel Patterson – California School of Science and Medicine c/o 2023, MD      Tricia Nguyen – California School of Science and Medicine c/o 2024, MD

                                                                                                     

Lauren De Sa – California School of Science and Medicine c/o 2024, MD                 Cynthia Janku- California School of Science and Medicine c/o 2024, MD

                                                                                                             

Jane Kim – California School of Science and Medicine c/o 2024, MD                    Viviana Castaneda – Azusa Pacific University, MPH Candidate

2019 - 2020 Scholars

Six scholars from University of California Riverside, School of Medicine successfully completed their second year of the two-year AHEC scholar program on June 30th, 2021. This cohort will move on to meet the requirements to earn a Community Health emphasis from UCR SOM.

 

Scholars Spotlight:

                                                                                    

Cara Cusi – UCR SOM c/o 2023, MD Candidate                                      Philine Endres – UCR SOM c/o 2023, MD Candidate 

 

                                                                                              (Not Pictured)

Wonder Edem – UCR SOM c/o 2023, MD Candidate                                    Somiya Maheshwari – UCR SOM c/o 2023, MD Candidate

 

                                                                                   

Skylar Rains – UCR SOM c/o 2023, MD Candidate                                       Ursula Simonoski – UCR SOM c/o 2023, MD Candidate