Detroit Mercy Physician Assistant (PA) student Katie Lukovich beat out nearly 650 applicants to earn a national scholarship from the PA Foundation.
The PA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA), awarded 27 scholarships in 2019. Lukovich’s scholarship is worth $1,000.
“This scholarship is important and means a lot to me because PA school is a financial commitment. Any relief of the financial burden is much appreciated,” Lukovich said. “I was working part time through the first two didactic years, but since then, I have had to go down to contingent, only working once a month. With a house, a family and three dogs to care for, every bit of financial relief is appreciated.”
Lukovich, a third-year PA student at Detroit Mercy, is in her clinical year of the program. She’s involved with AAPA’s Student Academy Board of Directors, serving as north central regional director.
Lukovich sees the dividends of her commitment to the PA profession in the scholarship.
“It made me feel that outside of all the work to get into PA school, the struggles while in PA school and various volunteering and leadership roles outside of the classroom have been worth it,” she said.
Detroit Mercy’s PA program is one of more than 250 in the U.S. But students like Lukovich ensures Detroit Mercy stands out from the crowd, said Amy Dereczyk, the University’s PA program director.
“Katie makes PA school look easy,” Dereczyk said. “She is at the top of her class and still finds time to be involved at a program, university and national level. She is highly intelligent and professional.”
Scholarship recipients were chosen based on their understanding of the PA role, expectations for their PA career and service work.