Richard Juarez, MD Foundation Outstanding Commitment to the Community Award Application

History: The Richard Juarez, MD Foundation was created in honor of one of the
Chicano/Latino Medical Student Associations dedicated members, Richard Juarez. Richard was born April 24, 1972 from the rural town of Brawley, California, and was a student at the UCLA-Drew School of Medicine. For all the years he was in medical school, he tirelessly dedicated himself to what was then CMSA (now known as LMSA). He acted not only as a Medical Student Representative (MSR) for his chapter, but he also became the principal medical student in charge of CMSAs Supernetwork grant funding. He, along with esteemed CMSA supporter Gigi Gareza, maintained the Supernetwork structure, to ensure that all chapters performed the necessary duties to maintain funding for the organization. This in turn allowed CMSA to successfully proceed with its annual activities and local chapter events. Richards duty to underserved communities expanded beyond his involvement in CMSA. He was well known among peers and faculty alike to be a true leader, and was consistently involved in community outreach and Latino health issues, both local and national. Richard Juarez was going to go into Family Medicine, with plans to return to Brawley. Tragically, in his final year of medical school, Richard passed away in a car accident at the start of Thanksgiving weekend, November 25, 1998. UCLA-Drew School of Medicine post-humously awarded Richard his MD degree. Classmates and fellow CMSA members decided to make permanent Richards memory in the creation of the Richard Juarez, MD Memorial Award for Outstanding Commitment to the Community. This award started in 1999, and now continues on through this Foundation. The Foundations Board members are made up of Richards former classmates, CMSA/LMSA friends, and colleagues that knew Richard, love him, and miss him. Starting in 2011, this Board is responsible for reviewing applications and selecting annual recipients for this award. In addition to the award itself, the Foundation will

be associating a cash prize, making the award more competitive and prestigious. Winners of the award will be announced at the annual LMSA graduation banquet.

2014 CALL FOR APPLICATIONS To qualify for the Richard Juarez, MD Memorial Award for Outstanding Commitment to the Community, applicants must be graduating medical students who have at minimum been involved in LMSA during all of their years of medical school training, and who show promise to fulfill further commitment to underserved communities. Submissions of application materials listed below for this years award are due at the Foundations Headquarters no later than Thursday, March 20th, 2014 by 6pm. Any application material received after this date and time will not be reviewed. All submitted materials become property of the Foundation and will not be returned. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. Application (all parts must be received by the deadline): 1) Curriculum Vitae, including all contact information (address, phone, email) 2) Unofficial Medical School transcript 3) One Letter of Recommendation from faculty 4) Personal Statement Essay: Why do you feel you qualify for this award, and what are your plans to stay involved with underserved communities as a physician?

Submit all applications to: RICHARD JUAREZ, MD FOUNDATION HEADQUARTERS 123 W. Wilken Way Anaheim, CA. 92802

For questions only, email the Foundation at: rjmdfoundation@yahoo.com