Six medical students from OUWB recognized as ‘outstanding’ for 2025-26 - Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine

Six students from Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine have been named outstanding for the 2025-26 academic year.

The group consists of three medical students who are now M2s and three who are M3s.

The M2s are Zerick Dill, Selene Kizy, and Rohit Ray.

The M3s are Shayaan Aqil, Shreya Srivatsan, and Nedi Affas. Aqil and Srivatsan also earned recognition for being outstanding last year.

Jickssa Gemechu, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Foundational Medical Studies, serves as chair of the Student Award Committee.

He said the intent is to recognize excellence in academics, service, professionalism, and leadership and to serve as additional motivation and encouragement as students advance in their medical education.

“Being selected is truly a significant accomplishment,” said Gemechu. “This award says that ‘Your hard work and contributions across academics, scholarship, and service really matter.’”

Srivatsan said she was “incredibly honored” to receive the award for a second year in a row. She also said she was “so humbled to be recognized among such intelligent classmates.”

“Academically, I've also worked hard, and I've endeavored over the past two years to give back to the campus and the communities around me,” she said. “This award is not just a testament to my own hard work, but also to the extensive support I've received from our incredible OUWB faculty, my parents, and my friends who have always sincerely uplifted me along the way.”

Aqil said he was “deeply humbled and grateful.”

“I am fortunate to be surrounded by classmates whose scholarship, service, leadership, and character continually inspire me, which makes being recognized among them especially meaningful,” he said.

“To me, this award also reflects the mentorship, encouragement, and opportunities I have received from the OUWB community.”

‘Encouragement to continue’

Outstanding Student Awards have been given at OUWB since 2012.

Outstanding students are selected based on a rigorous evaluation of nominations received, focusing on professionalism, honors, leadership, scholarship, inclusivity, and service.

The selection process includes quantitative criteria such as course director nominations, honors received, and evaluations from peers and faculty. A holistic approach is taken to assess each nominee’s contributions and experiences, ensuring a well-rounded selection of students who embody the mission and vision of OUWB.

All the award recipients have contributed to multiple publications and research projects. They have served the communities they touch in myriad difference-making ways.

Take Srivatsan, who has volunteered at OUWB through the OUWB-Hispanic Newcomer Outreach (OUWB-HNO) Mentoring Program, and as a tutor.

She also is a longtime volunteer with VT Seva, where she most recently served as international program coordinator for the organization’s accessible digital book library program. In 2025, she received an award for more than 175 hours of service, and earned the American South Asian Network Volunteer Excellence Award, First Prize in the Rising Changemakers Division.

At OUWB, she been involved in several student organizations: Docapella and Spinal Chords; South Asian Medical Student Association; Family Medicine Interest Group; Medical Student Pride Alliance; and Spools and Sutures.

Similarly, Aqil has been involved with the Ophthalmology Interest Group and the American Muslim Medical Student Association. He also helped organize four free vision screenings in metro Detroit and co-organized the 2026 OUWB Fast-a-Thon and Community Iftar.

Further, he served as director of Health Advocacy and Outreach for the Paani Project, where he supported fundraising of more than $6 million for clean water, health care, and education initiatives in Pakistan.

He also serves as a tutor and has led workshops on evidence-based study strategies and resource integration as an AnkiHub Ambassador.

“I view this recognition as encouragement to continue growing and as a responsibility to pay forward the support I have received, particularly by mentoring younger students and continuing to serve our school and surrounding communities,” he said.

Affas volunteered with OUWB’s Student-Run Free Clinic, the Corewell Health Mother and Baby Unit and Emergency Department, World Medical Relief, and several other mentorship and community outreach programs.

In her role with the Obstetrics and Gynecology Interest Group, Affas led the effort to secure a $750 Compass mini-grant for a clean birth kit initiative. She also was on the board of the Chaldean American Medical Student Association, a Lead Admissions Ambassador, a tutor, and a pre-med mentor.

Affas also participated in OUWB’s Diversity and Inclusion Pre-Interview Chats, studied in Ghana through an OU study abroad program, and mentored students from underserved backgrounds through the Bound Together Summer Mini Medical Program.

“These experiences gave me opportunities to learn from and support people from different backgrounds and strengthened my commitment to cultural humility and creating environments where people feel supported and included,” she said.

‘Making a difference’

The students who are now M2s have had their share of successes as well.

Dill worked with a nonprofit called Our House Internal Outreach from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio. With his grant writing assistance, the organization was able to open its first shelter and safehouse with a 20-bed capacity.

At OUWB’s Honors Convocation in May, he received the Michele D. Raible Award. The award is named in honor of Raible, founding associate dean, OUWB, who passed away from complications from Acute Myeloid Leukemia just before the school welcomed its first class.

The peer-selected recognition annually goes to a student who best personifies what Raible brought to the school — someone who is compassionate, cares deeply about others, demonstrates a true love of learning, and functions as a mentor for their classmates.

“It truly made me feel I was making a difference within the OUWB community,” he said.

Ray served as co-coordinator for OUWB-HNO and as an AAMC Organization of Student Representatives (OSR) representative, where he helped secure $3,500 in Kern National Network funding for student-led wellness initiatives at OUWB.

Further, he was involved with the American Medical Association OUWB chapter and Bioethics Interest Group.

“What means the most to me is that the recognition reflects not only what I have been able to accomplish academically, but also how I have tried to contribute to the OUWB community,” he said.

“Almost everything I am most proud of from my first year has been collaborative, so I view the award as a reflection of the people I have had the opportunity to work with just as much as my own efforts. It motivates me to continue finding ways to contribute to the school and support the people around me.”

Kizy founded a free dermatology clinic in Detroit that provides care to the surrounding underserved community. Further, she works as a medical intern with a traveling dermatology clinic that brings care directly to senior living communities, helping reduce their barriers to dermatologic care.

“I’m so grateful and honored to have received this recognition. It means so much to be recognized for both my academics and the experiences that have been most meaningful to me throughout medical school,” she said.

“I feel very fortunate to have had so many opportunities to learn and pursue the things I genuinely care about, so having those efforts recognized is really special to me.”