Posted by Jennie David on September 24, 2013
A hugely gutsy drum roll for an exciting announcement! The Patient Advisory Council (PAC) has two new patient scholars! The Patient Scholars program was pioneered as an initiative to elevate the voices of selected members of the PAC for one full academic year. Read more >>
We are thrilled by their outstanding applications, determined spirits, and amazing accomplishments - we cannot wait to continue to work with them to build the PAC and ImproveCareNow stronger day by day!
Without further delay, let me introduce our wonderful new Patient Scholars - Katherine & Tyler!!
Katherine: Hi everyone! My name is Katherine and I am incredibly honored and excited to have the opportunity to work with the C3N and ImproveCareNow communities as a patient scholar. I recently graduated from John Carroll University as a marketing and human resource management double major. I have a huge passion for the IBD community and extending networks of care, awareness and support in any way that I can. While I am technically not a "pediatric" patient anymore, I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease as a young teen and have had to navigate some challenging transitions in life while living with this illness. My involvement began about ten years ago around my time of diagnosis. Starting as a youth ambassador for CCFA in my hometown of Columbus, OH to becoming the Co-Chair for CCFA's National Council of College Leaders (NCCL) during college, I have truly found my passion for empowering fellow patients by sharing my own experiences and contributing to education and awareness initiatives. I hope to bring some new ideas and fresh perspective to this group and I'm excited to attend the fall learning session to not only see all of these creative minds and networks at work, but also to learn as much as I can as well as share my experiences with others.
Tyler: My name is Tyler and I’m a high school senior from Westerville, Ohio. I am very involved in my school; being a peer minister, student ambassador, and member of the ski club, math club, and Italian club. I play tennis year-round and for my school as well. I’m a little bit unique in that my family has moved around multiple times. As a result I was diagnosed at Riley Hospital for Children, was a patient at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), and am currently a patient at Nationwide. I have had Crohn’s disease for 8 years now, being diagnosed when I was only nine years old. My disease has had a big impact on my life and has driven me to be active and make a difference in the IBD community. I have become very involved with ImproveCareNow (ICN), CCFA, and even started my own IBD fundraiser. The IBD community has a special place in my heart because I know firsthand the impact the disease has. I am very passionate about making a difference and being a voice for patients. I have been a part of ICN for over 2 years now and am very excited to further my involvement as a patient scholar. It is such an honor to be a patient scholar and I am most excited to be attending the fall learning session. I’m very excited to further my involvement this year as one of the patient scholars!
Welcome to Katherine and Tyler!!!!!!
J + S