Thirteen students studying to become physicians, dentists and other health care providers and who want to practice in rural Alabama communities were recognized April 25 at a College of Community Health Sciences convocation.
The students are part of the College’s Rural Medical Scholars, Rural Community Health Scholars and Rural Dental Scholars programs. The Rural Medical Scholars Program is operated jointly by CCHS and the UAB Heersink School of Medicine and the Rural Dental Scholars Program is a collaboration of CCHS and UAB School of Dentistry.
This year’s convocation also marked milestones for the programs, including the 30th anniversary of the Rural Medical Scholars Program and the third year of the Rural Dental Scholars Program.
“We are here to celebrate our students and all they have accomplished this academic year,” Dr. Antonio Gardner, director of education and evaluation for CCHS Rural Programs, said in welcoming remarks to the students, their families and guests.
“You are a very special part of this College,” added Dr. Caroline Boxmeyer, CCHS senior associate dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs. “You are the embodiment of our mission. We are very deliberate about building pathway programs and strengthening the workforce for our rural communities, and each of you represents that commitment.”
Dr. Jackie Luker, associate director of CCHS Rural Programs and a former Rural Medical Scholar, provided an overview of the Rural Medical Scholars Program. ““The pathway often is described as circular,” she said. “It begins with students from rural Alabama who already know their communities need them, and it comes full circle when they return home as physicians committed to serve the places that shaped them.”
The convocation keynote speaker was Toniann Richard, president-elect of the National Rural Health Association in Kansas City, Mo. She encouraged students to stay grounded in their roots and relationships.
“Be proud of where you came from, where you’ve been and where you’re going,” Richard said. “These programs don’t just prepare rural doctors or dentists, but they build leaders who can strengthen rural communities for generations.”
The Rural Medical Scholars Program is exclusively for rural Alabama students and includes year of study, after students receive their undergraduate degree, that leads to a master’s degree in Rural Community Health and early admission to the Heersink School of Medicine.
Luker said the Rural Medical Scholars Program was created in 1996 to help ease a critical shortage of doctors in rural Alabama. As of 2025, the program has placed 90 primary-care physicians into rural practice in Alabama.
The Rural Dental Scholars Program is exclusively for students from rural Alabama and provides a separate admissions pathway to the UAB School of Dentistry. The program includes a year of study and a master’s degree in Rural Community Health, after students receive their undergraduate degree, and early admission to the UAB School of Dentistry.
The Rural Community Health Scholars Program is for rural Alabama college graduates interested in health professions. Scholars complete a year of studies alongside the Rural Medical Scholars and receive a master’s degree in Rural Community Health. Many enter nursing, physician assistant and other allied health programs and professions.
Dr. Drake Lavender, director of CCHS Rural Programs and a graduate of the first Rural Medical Scholars class, presented the Distinguished Service Award to Dr. Beverly Jordan, a family medicine physician and primary care sports medicine specialist in Enterprise, Ala., and a graduate of the College’s Family Medicine Residency.
“A graduate of the Rural Medical Scholars Program’s second class, she has journeyed through this pathway with us from the beginning,” Lavender said. “We are not just producing doctors or dentists for rural Alabama. We are producing leaders, and no one has more fully lived up to that calling than Dr. Beverly Jordan.”
2025-26 Rural Medical Scholars:
- Kelsei Elmore of Demopolis
- Skyler Hall of Hazel Green
- Kaiden Wilson of Jasper
- John Rose of Cullman
- Dylon Wallace of Cullman
- Kenyanna Horn of Oneonta
2025-26 Rural Dental Scholars:
- Isabella Brakefield of Calera
- Jay Moore of Toney
- Carson Peevy of Holtville
- Jasey Wallace of Guntersville
- Brooklyn Wilson of Jasper
2025-26 Rural Community Health Scholars:
- Abbi Calhoun of Clanton
- Caroline Ricks of Clanton