Eighteen Western University of Health Sciences students of Asian descent
will receive scholarships ranging from $500 to $1,000 at the Eleventh
Annual Asian American Scholarship Dinner on Saturday, March 10, at the Sam
Woo Seafood Restaurant in San Gabriel.
Western University has provided $92,500 in awards or loans to 106 students
since it held its first Asian American Scholarship Dinner in 1991. More
than 35 percent of the university’s student body is comprised of students
of Asian or Pacific Islander descent.
Many of the recipients are immigrants or first generation U.S. citizens
with compelling stories of academic triumph in the face of adversity.
Several have come from refugee camps and hardworking low-income families.
At the dinner, Western University also will pay tribute to Eugene Chan,
MD, the former chief of staff and director of the emergency department at
Community Hospital of Los Angeles. Two of his nephews are graduates of the
university’s College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (COMP) and in
2000 Dr. Chan and those nephews established a scholarship for a COMP
student of Chinese descent.
Western University established the Asian American Scholarship Fund to
financially assist students of Asian descent who are studying to become
health care professionals. Scholarship recipients are judged by three
criteria: academic performance, financial need and community service.
Many past scholarship recipients have gone on to become respected health
care professionals serving Asian communities, often pursuing their careers
in underserved and economically disadvantaged areas.
Those students to be honored at the dinner are: Michael Y. Chang, a third-
year medical student at COMP. Mr. Chang, of Diamond Bar, is the recipient
of the James Yee Ginn & Mae Ginn Memorial Osteopathic Scholarship Fund
Award of $1,000, given annually to an osteopathic medical student of Asian-
American descent.
Andrew Wong, a second-year medical student, will receive the $1,000
Randall Shue, DO ’83; Michael Wong, DO ’91; and Eugene Chan, MD, Chinese
Scholarship Fund award. Mr. Wong is a resident of Pomona.
El Monte resident Christine Chen, a third-year COMP student, is the
recipient of the $1,000 T.G. Wing Chow Scholarship Fund award.
Other scholarship winners include: Daniel Bajada of Hayward, a second-year
student in the university’s Master of Physical Therapy program; Abha
Malhotra Bosworth, MPH, a first-year student in the Master of Science in
Physician Assistant Studies program and resident of Moreno Valley; and
classmate Milan Vora of Charlotte Hill, Maryland.
Scholarship winners in Western University’s College of Pharmacy are: Miye
K. Krystal, of Studio City, a fourth-year pharmacy student; Chino’s Phuong
Nguyen, a third-year pharmacy student; second-year pharmacy student Lisa
Q. Ngo of Claremont; and Beth H. Tseng, a resident of Baldwin Park and
first-year pharmacy student.
Other COMP students who have won scholarships are: Albert and Vicki Quan
of San Marino, both fourth-year students; third-year student Steve Ming-
Hann Lee, of Upland; Prakash Desai, MS, a second-year student who lives in
Huntington Park; and his classmate Loan Le, of Upland. First-year students
Mai Tran, MHA, of Riverside; Joy Chou; and Grace Woan-Ching Huang of
Pasadena, have also won scholarships.
The evening’s honoree, Dr Chan, retired from practice in 1990, yet
continues his interest and involvement in medicine – he holds active and
current physicians’ and surgeons’ licenses for California and volunteers
his medical services locally and in Mexico. He received his medical degree
from the University of California, Irvine.
The Sam Woo Seafood Restaurant is located at 140 W. Valley Blvd., Suite D-
4th Floor, in the San Gabriel Square Shopping Center, San Gabriel.
Cocktails begin at 6:30 p.m.; dinner is at 7:30 p.m. Tickets to the dinner
are $100 per person; proceeds go toward the Asian American Scholarship
Fund. For reservations or more information, contact Western University’s
Events and Programs Department at (909) 469-5365.