WV School of Osteopathic Medicine invests in their students and West Virginia

LEWISBURG, WV (WVNS) – One local school is not only helping their students, but potentially the entire state as well.

The West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine Foundation partnered with the Encova Foundation to donate $38,000 in awards to twelve WVSOM students.

The scholarship amount per recipient ranges from $2,000 to $8,000.

The Development Officer for the WVSOM Foundation, Shelden Mullens said the Encova Foundation is massively impactful to their organization.

“Encova is our biggest corporate and scholarship donor. We are very thankful for their partnership. We have awarded over one million dollars in scholarships over the past few years with the partnership that we have with them,” said Mullens.

Medical school students owe an average of $243,493 in total educational debt. That is according to data collected by Educationdata.org in 2023.

Mullens told 59News these scholarships not only help the students but can help the entire state for years to come.

“This scholarship really helps students who have a high focus of staying in West Virginia. That is our main mission here, to produce high qualified physicians to stay in the state of West Virginia. Any type of support to these students helps,” said Mullens.

67 percent of state medical school graduates in rural areas of West Virginia were WVSOM students, per a report from the West Virginia HEPC Health Sciences and Rural Health Report in 2023.

To be considered for these scholarships, all students had to fill out an application form.

These scholarships are awarded for each academic year.

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