Alumni Testimonials
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Dr. Katrina Nguyen (’02)
“I think it’s important to keep the idealism of helping others in your heart.”
- Fourth-year resident, internal medicine and pediatrics, University of Missouri-Columbia
- Recipient of a pediatric gastroenterology fellowship at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, New York
- Awarded Child Health Grant from the American Academy of Pediatrics
Don’t let Dr. Katrina Nguyen’s small stature fool you. Standing at 5 feet tall and weighing in at 95 pounds, Nguyen packs a heavy punch in the medical field. She has broken many barriers such as being one of the few Caribbean medical students accepted into a pediatric gastroenterology fellowship, and she has implemented changes such as initiating a program to administer free health screenings to underprivileged children. For Nguyen, it’s not about being big or small, it’s about making a difference.
Currently a fourth-year resident in a combined internal medicine and pediatrics program, Nguyen produced many firsts during her residency at the University of Missouri-Columbia. She was the first foreign medical student accepted into the school’s program, the first from UMC to be honored with a pediatric gastroenterology fellowship at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, and the first to be rewarded with a Community Access to Child Health Grant from the American Academy of Pediatrics, allowing pediatricians to plan community-based projects to increase a child’s access to medical care. Nguyen says: “I feel this project has helped me figure out why I wanted to go to medical school in the first place. I think it’s important to keep the idealism of helping others in your heart.”
Dr. Joseph Sciammarella (’85)
“AUC graduates have contributed greatly to the international medical community.”
- Current Position: Medical Director, Health Training Consulting, Inc.
- Board certified in both internal medicine and emergency medicine
- Senior U.S. Army Battalion flight surgeon
- Residency: Internal medicine, St. Vincent’s Medical Center, Staten Island, New York
Major Joseph Sciammarella, M.D., F.A.C.P, F.A.C.E.P. (’85) is currently in the Medical Corps of the U.S. Army Reserve and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2006 as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. When he’s not serving his country overseas, he serves his patients and residents through an ongoing dedication to both the practice and scholarship of medicine. Sciammarella says that AUC helped to make him a better doctor: “AUC instilled in me the desire to continue learning throughout my career and professional life.”
Proof positive is his already impressive track record in the field: served as the full-time medical director of the Suffolk County EMS System for 5 years; board certified in both Internal Medicine and Emergency Medicine; published in numerous scientific journals and authored chapters in textbooks; given scientific presentations throughout North America; and actively involved in promoting Public Access Defibrillation programs nationwide.
Sciammarella credits the people of AUC with helping him advance through his medical training: “My connections with fellow students and AUC graduates helped me obtain many clinical clerkships at prestigious institutions.”
He remains connected to AUC through the Alumni volunteer programs and by serving as the Keynote Speaker at a recent AUC commencement. He says: “AUC is not like other foreign medical schools. It has a proven 30-year track record of academic excellence and parallels American medical curriculums.”
*Printed in AUC Connections Alumni Magazine.