Ovalles Awarded for Serving Hispanic Community

Fransheska Ovalles DMD 13 has received a $5,000 scholarship from the National Hispanic Health Foundation for her volunteerism in the Hispanic community. She received the award at a presentation in New York on November 29, 2012.

The Foundation awarded 20 scholarships—16 of them for $5,000—to dental, medical, nursing, public health, pharmacy, and health policy analysis students who have demonstrated exceptional academics, leadership, and commitment to the Hispanic community.

Ovalles is president of the GSDM chapter of the Hispanic Student Dental Association (HSDA) and Vice-Chair of the Community Outreach Committee in the GSDM chapter of the American Student Dental Association. She regularly participates in outreach events with the Division of Community Health Programs, many of which she has helped plan.

Ovalles showed her commitment to minority education as a member of the ADA 2011 Student Ambassador Program. She attended the meeting in Las Vegas to learn about recruiting more underrepresented minorities to dental school and was charged with working with GSDM Students Affairs and student groups to implement what she learned at GSDM.

“I continue to be impressed by Fransheska Ovalles’ dedication to the Hispanic community and other underrepresented minorities,” said Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter. “We at GSDM appreciate her efforts and are excited to see her continued involvement in the community as a future alumnus.”

The National Hispanic Health Foundation is affiliated with the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University.