Meet PSA Recipients
P.E.O. Scholar Award recipients go on to pursue careers in university academics, scientific research, medicine, law, performing arts, international economics, history, literature, government and other demanding fields and make lasting contributions to their fields of endeavor.
Endowed Scholars
Shima Dowla
M.D./Ph.D. in public health, University of Alabama Birmingham School of Medicine
nominated by Chapter AK, Birmingham, Alabama
Shima Dowla began her research while she was still in high school, studying neurotransmission in ADHD. Shima then earned an A.B. magna cum laude from Dartmouth College with double majors in neuroscience and Asian/Middle Eastern studies. Her thesis focused on the factors affecting healthcare decision making among residents of a Bangladeshi slum. After completing her M.D., Shima plans to practice as a pediatric endocrinologist-scientist, seeking to remediate childhood obesity and chronic metabolic disease, domestically and globally.
M.D./Ph.D. in public health, University of Alabama Birmingham School of Medicine
nominated by Chapter AK, Birmingham, Alabama
Shima Dowla began her research while she was still in high school, studying neurotransmission in ADHD. Shima then earned an A.B. magna cum laude from Dartmouth College with double majors in neuroscience and Asian/Middle Eastern studies. Her thesis focused on the factors affecting healthcare decision making among residents of a Bangladeshi slum. After completing her M.D., Shima plans to practice as a pediatric endocrinologist-scientist, seeking to remediate childhood obesity and chronic metabolic disease, domestically and globally.
Caitlin Doyle
Ph.D. in English literature and creative writing, University of Cincinnati
nominated by Chapter DP, Cincinnati, Ohio
Caitlin Doyle's love of poetry was inspired by her experience growing up as a first generation Irish American immersed in songs, poems and stories from Ireland. Caitlin earned a B.A. in English literature and creative writing with distinction and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as the Thomas Wolfe Scholar. She then completed a M.F.A. in creative writing at Boston University as the George Starbuck Fellow in Poetry. Her career goals include publishing poetry collections, book reviews and essays while teaching creative writing and literature at the university level.
Ph.D. in English literature and creative writing, University of Cincinnati
nominated by Chapter DP, Cincinnati, Ohio
Caitlin Doyle's love of poetry was inspired by her experience growing up as a first generation Irish American immersed in songs, poems and stories from Ireland. Caitlin earned a B.A. in English literature and creative writing with distinction and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as the Thomas Wolfe Scholar. She then completed a M.F.A. in creative writing at Boston University as the George Starbuck Fellow in Poetry. Her career goals include publishing poetry collections, book reviews and essays while teaching creative writing and literature at the university level.
Mary Jane Drake
D.V.M. in veterinary medicine, University of Pennsylvania
nominated by Chapter G, Wilmington, Delaware
Mary Jane Drake graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Richmond with a B.S. in biochemistry and molecular biology. She then completed her Ph.D. in microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania. She is currently ranked first in her veterinary class at Penn, where her studies focus on food animal populations. After graduation, Mary Jane plans to continue to study food animal production systems and farmer practices with a goal of eventually writing public policy on infectious disease management in food animal populations.
D.V.M. in veterinary medicine, University of Pennsylvania
nominated by Chapter G, Wilmington, Delaware
Mary Jane Drake graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Richmond with a B.S. in biochemistry and molecular biology. She then completed her Ph.D. in microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania. She is currently ranked first in her veterinary class at Penn, where her studies focus on food animal populations. After graduation, Mary Jane plans to continue to study food animal production systems and farmer practices with a goal of eventually writing public policy on infectious disease management in food animal populations.
