In October of 2005, at the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine's (AAAOM) annual conference in Chicago, Trudy McAlister received the Patient of the Year award from the AAAOM for her philanthropic donation. This led to the establishment of the first national scholarship fund for students of acupuncture and Oriental medicine.
The AOM Scholarship Fund
Trudy was a grateful patient of acupuncture who suffered from severe nerve and leg pain that remained untreatable with allopathic medicine. However, her response and dramatic relief with acupuncture gave her a new lease on life. She was so grateful that she asked her acupuncturist, Dr. Gene Bruno, if there was a way she could give back to the profession. When he suggested a scholarship fund for students of acupuncture, she jumped at the chance.
Trudy and Dr. Bruno worked together to design the structure for the scholarships, and with Trudy's initial donation the first national not-for-profit scholarship foundation for students of acupuncture was born, the Trudy McAlister Foundation. Trudy continued to make yearly donations to the Foundation up until the year she passed in 2015, just short of her 103rd birthday.
The AOM Scholarship Fund, which is the primary function of the Trudy McAlister Foundation, was established to support students who show promise of making significant contributions either to clinical practice, leadership potential and the understanding of the role of AOM in a modern context. In addition to academic success, the AOM Scholarship Fund places an emphasis on involvement in community affairs, and participation in professional associations that promote public awareness and expansion of acupuncture and Oriental medicine. The AOM Scholarship Fund is seeking to support the future leaders of our profession, and we recognize this involves much more than just scholastic achievement. The AOM Scholarship Fund is committed to supporting U.S. citizens who are studying for their first professional degree at an ACAOM accredited school of AOM, or "candidate" school in the U.S. The Foundation also supports research and related activities that promote AOM advancement.
A Charitable Foundation
In May of 2007 the Trudy McAlister Foundation completed the legal and procedural processes that enabled the Foundation to become a charitable, not-for-profit entity - allowing donors to make tax-deductible gifts to the Foundation.
At the AAAOM Conference in October of 2007, the Foundation awarded its first two scholarships. The initial announcement was made at the AAAOM Student Organization caucus. The recipients were Jason Moskovitz from Yo San University in Los Angeles, and Andrew Fritsch from the Minnesota College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. Each recipient received a $1,000 scholarship.
One of the primary goals of the Foundation is to increase the number of scholarships, and the amounts of the awards. In order to accomplish this we need the help of the AOM community. Currently our most generous donor is John Scott of Golden Flower Herbs. For nearly 8 years he has gifted the Foundation $2,000 a year. This has allowed us to give an increased scholarship award to eight additional deserving students.
The Foundation's Goals
Two years ago the AOM Scholarship Fund launched a School Sponsorship program. The top applicant from a Sponsor School wins a special scholarship. The amount of this award is based on the amount of money donated by Sponsor Schools. Ideally, this will become the largest single scholarship that we provide to a student every year. If most AOM Schools donate a minimum of $200/year, we will be able to provide one student with a $10,000+ scholarship. This is in addition to our other scholarships, which will continue to be available to students attending any accredited AOM school in the U.S.
In the end, the future of the only national scholarship fund for students of AOM depends solely on the generosity of schools, vendors, individuals and organizations. The students in our AOM schools are the future leaders of our profession – of our medicine. The Trudy McAlister Foundation will do as much as possible to help support them financially. We deeply appreciate any help you can offer in support of this mission.
The 2019 Winners Are ...
- Nicole Fillion-Robin – AOMA Graduate School of Integrative Medicine ($5,000)
- Lisa Anne Franzetta – Acupuncture & Integrative Medicine College ($2,500)
- Molly Holmbo – Southwest Acupuncture College ($1,500)
- Kayla Arney – Northwestern Health Sciences University ($700)
Since 2007, the Foundation has given out 49 scholarships to deserving students. The following is a list of the students and the schools they attended.
2007
- Jason Moskovitz - Yo san University
- Andrew Fritsch – Minnesota College of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine
2008
- Christy Kennedy - Colorado School of Traditional Chinese Medicine
2009
- Ian Koebner - New England School of Acupuncture
- Christy Kennedy - Colorado School of Traditional Chinese Medicine
2010
- Ian Koebner - New England School of Acupuncture
- Patrick Kelley - Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, New York
2011
- Dylan Stein - Pacific college of Oriental Medicine, New York
- Zev Myerowitz - Finger Lakes College of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine
- Crystal Keeler - ACTCM
- David Bibbey - Florida College of integrative Medicine
- Christine Grisham - Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, San Diego
2012
- Susan Allgeyer – Florida College of Integrative Medicine
- Zoe Culbertson - New England School of Acupuncture
- Byeong Jo - Jung Tao School of Classical Chinese Medicine
- Pamela Verlander – Florida College of Integrative Medicine
2013
- Carrie Lovemark – Five Branches University
- Elaina Stover – AOMA Graduate School of Integrative Medicine
- Katie Ngan - Southern California University of Health Sciences
- Joanne White - New England School of Acupuncture
2014
- Elizabeth B. Bennett – Daoist Traditions College of Chinese Medicine
- Karmen Scott – National College of Natural Medicine
- Carrie Lovemark – Five Branches University
- Kristin Hauser – Southern California University of Health Sciences
- ShengHsi Kimberly Liu – Florida College of Integrative Medicine
2015
- Elizabeth Barrett – Florida College of Integrative Medicine
- Heather Gail George – National Colleg of Natural Medicine
- Amy Green – Won Institute of Graduate Studies
- Taissa Kira – Won Institute of Graduate Studies
- Colleen Teska – AOMA Graduate School of Integrative Medicine
2016
- Elizabeth B. Bennett – Daoist Traditions College of Chinese Medicine
- Melissa (Ariel) Bobotek – National University of Natural Medicine
- Kate Iberg – Pacific College of Oriental Medicine
- Marina Orlova – Acupuncture & Massage College
- Colleen Teska – AOMA Graduate School of Integrative Medicine
2017
- Samantha Dettmer – Southwest Acupuncture College
- Travis Kern – Oregon College of Oriental Medicine
- Colleen Teska – AOMA Graduate School of Integrative Medicine
- Jamie Wilcox – Northwestern Health Sciences University
- Hui-Li Yuan – Florida College of Integrative Medicine
2018
- Jamie Wilcox – Northwestern Health Sciences University
- Jasmine Lister – Oregon College of Oriental Medicine
- Nicole Fillion-Robin – AOMA Graduate School of Integrative Medicine
- Anna Fleischer – Eastern School of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine
- Hui-Li Yuan – Florida College of Integrative Medicine
The members of the Foundations Board of Directors are: Gene Bruno, Pamela Lee, Laura Ocker, Rhonda Wilbur and Marilyn Allen. Applications for scholarships are available at: AOMScholarship.org. Each school may submit up to three applicants.
Heather George is a graduate from National University of Natural Medicine and is currently the executive director of Trudy McAllister's AOM Scholarship Fund. Dr. George specializes in the Endocannabinoid System from a classical/eastern medical perspective.
Geno Bruno is one of the pioneers in the profession, he has dedicated his career to the advancement of acupuncture and Oriental Medicine in the U.S. He's served in teaching and research positions, and has been in private practice for over 45 years. In 2007 he established the Trudy McAlister Foundation.