America’s largest state medical society awarded the scholarships to the students at TexMed, TMA’s annual conference and expo, held this year in San Antonio.

Kristen Wells of Big Spring graduated from Midwestern State University at Wichita Falls. She will attend Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in the fall. Wells spent almost two years shadowing two family physicians in a rural town, where she gained practical hands-on medical experience. This experience led her to choose family medicine as her field of study. She plans to practice medicine in a rural town of fewer than 10,000 residents. Her scholarship was provided through a gift from an anonymous donor.

Since 1999, TMA has awarded scholarships to encourage outstanding minority students to enter the medical profession and help meet the medical needs of Texas’ diverse population. To date, TMA has awarded 38 scholarships, totaling $190,000.

TMA selected the scholarship recipients from a pool of minority students who have been accepted to a Texas medical school this fall. Each honoree demonstrated outstanding community service, health care experience, and academic standings.

The eight scholarships are made possible through a grant from the association’s philanthropic arm, the TMA Foundation, thanks to generous gifts from physicians and their families, and others.

TMA is the largest state medical society in the nation, representing more than 43,000 physician and medical student members. It is located in Austin and has 120 component county medical societies around the state. TMA’s key objective since 1853 is to improve the health of all Texans.