Donors, Students and MCW Leadership Celebrate Scholarship Support
Medical College of Wisconsin students and their families, donors, and faculty and staff celebrated the power of philanthropic support for scholarships at an event held March 15, just before the 2025 Match Day Ceremonies. The gathering was marked by gratitude, inspiration, and a shared commitment to supporting the next generation of healthcare professionals.
Donors were recognized at the event for their support of scholarship awards, which are instrumental in ensuring that talented, passionate students can pursue their calling in the healthcare profession without financial constraints limiting their potential. These contributions also boost MCW’s efforts to attract the nation’s top students to the Schools of Medicine, Pharmacy and Graduate Studies.
John R. Raymond, Sr., MD, MCW’s president and CEO, noted the importance of a healthy scholarship program and his gratitude for donors in his remarks at the event.
“Providing the foundational training for students in our Schools of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Graduate Studies is central to our mission as a health sciences university,” Dr. Raymond said. “Our education programs would not be as strong, or as successful, without donor contributions to our scholarship programs.”
To the donors attending the event, he added: “I am pleased that we can recognize your support for our scholarship programs and for your commitment to our students as they prepare for the next phase of their journeys to serve patients, their families, and our communities.”
Dr. Debbie Costakos, Interim Dean of the School of Medicine, recalled a quote from Abraham Lincoln in her remarks that, “’the best way to predict your future is to create it.’”
“Students,” she said, “I would urge all of you to remember everyone—your families, your spouses and loved ones, friends, teachers, and the donors who are with us today—all the individuals whose support made this day possible. These are the people who have helped to create the future whose journeys you are embarking on today as you learn where you have matched.”
Nathaniel Verhagen, a fourth-year medical student who attended the event and addressed the crowd stressed the connection a scholarship award has the potential to make between a donor and a student.
“They (the donors) didn’t just provide financial support,” he said, “they reinforced that people believed in us and our potential. That belief propelled my academic pursuits and pushed me to heights I never thought possible.”
Linda Gorens-Levey, an MCW trustee, and her husband, Michael Levey, who established a scholarship fund honoring Linda’s father, Sherwood W. Gorens, MD, shared,
“Scholarships don’t just support the students who receive them. “The awards shape the future of healthcare itself. By investing in these students, we are investing in the health and well-being of our communities for generations to come.”
Dr. Debbie Costakos, Interim Dean of the MCW School of Medicine and a 1998 alumna of the Class of 1998.
Terry Smith Roberts, graduating medical student and featured speaker at the event.
Graduating medical student and Lubar Scholar Katrina Erickson (left) with Margaret Haagensen, president of the Friends of the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Dr. John R. Raymond, Sr., president and CEO of MCW (left) with graduating medical student, Nathaniel Verhagen.