Monday, March 14, 2016

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation recognizes LUCOM student-doctor

Mon, 14 Mar 2016Shelley Andrews :: LUCOM Marketing and PR

A typical day of lecture turned into something so much more for a Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM) student-doctor, encouraging her to take action and ultimately win an award for her volunteer efforts.

Marie Arnaout, class of 2018, remembers the day the Gebhardt family visited the Center for Medical and Health Sciences and shared what it’s like for 6-year-old Myles to live with Cystic Fibrosis.

“When Myles and his family came to visit our class, he really pulled at my heart strings. I wanted to bring the passion from my past into medical school to serve this amazing little boy,” said Arnaout .

Throughout her undergraduate education, Arnaout was a member of Delta Phi Epsilon sorority. One of their philanthropies was the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF).

After hearing Myles’ story, Marie immediately formed a LUCOM team for Great Strides, a nationwide walk for Cystic Fibrosis. She also organized a fundraiser bake sale for the CFF through the LUCOM-American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians (ACOP) chapter.

Because of her hard work, Arnaout was honored with the Rosebud Award at the recent CFF annual meeting. This award is given to someone new to the CFF who excelled in networking, volunteering and/or new corporate engagement.

“We could not be as far along in our mission to cure Cystic Fibrosis without volunteers. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is unique because of the commitment and dedication of people like Marie,” said Terry Quinan, executive director of the Virginia chapter of the CFF. “In addition to their gifts of time, talent, compassion and money, we request their help in telling the story about what we do and the community services that we provide.”

Despite her demanding schedule in medical school, Arnaout says she wants to make the CFF a priority moving forward.

“I plan to continue to volunteer as much as time allows. It is a great organization with an inspiring story and a great cause,” said Arnaout.