Meet Colleen Uzoekwe

Colleen Uzoekwe, BS ’24 (human physiology)
2024 Rhodes Scholar finalist

Colleen Uzoekwe is a track and field team heptathlete with PAC 12, a National All American, and a Diversity Excellence Scholar -- to name only a few achievements. Despite all this, she shares that her most rewarding experience so far has been to work in the cadaver lab during the human anatomy and physiology core sequence because “the work is so valuable and so sacred, something that should always be treated with care.” She spent last summer researching in the Center of Policy Research and Emergency Medicine at the Oregon Health and Science University. Her desire is to “further the advancements made in medicine in order to increase access to healthcare, health literacy, and outreach to underserved communities.”

She was proud of becoming a Rhodes Scholar finalist but concerned about the overall cost of traveling. But donors giving to the Impact Fund provided these fees and lessened her concerns:

“The Impact Fund gave me the opportunity to be able to travel to Seattle and fully focus only on the pressure of the interviews and not on the finances of the trip. Without the funds, I wouldn’t have been able to travel or to pay for food during the trip. I am very grateful for everything donors have contributed to help all of us.”