DMU Honors Student Leaders Who Make a Difference

WEST DES MOINES, IA (05/14/2025) Des Moines University Medicine and Health Sciences recognized 160 students with service and leadership awards on Wednesday, May 7. These awards shine light unto the dedication and compassion each student holds to furthering their health care career through volunteerism and paving the way for the future of medicine and health sciences.

"The number of students in attendance today is a wonderful reflection of the heart of service and leadership here at DMU," says Joe Brookover, assistant director of Student Affairs. "When the formal recognition of service hours started in 2018, we had about 50 students. Now, we have over triple that amount."

The DMU Student Service Award, now in its eighth year, recognizes students from all programs who demonstrate efforts to improve lives in our global community through volunteerism. By participating in this recognition program, students commit to representing DMU with integrity and upholding its institutional values - accountability, collaboration, honesty, inclusiveness and wellness - while volunteering, reporting and reflecting on their experiences. Once the student completes 50 hours of service, they complete a final reflection on their most meaningful volunteer experiences, and how it changed their understanding of the community and themselves.

"I was motivated to get involved with volunteering as a way to connect with my community after a long and challenging first semester acclimating to medical school," says Macy Mixdorf, D.O.'28, in her submitted application. "Being able to connect with my community really put things into perspective and reminded me why I want to serve people as a doctor."

Two students received leadership awards for their involvement in making DMU a better place. Jordan Samuel, D.O.'27, received the Student Leader of the Year award, which recognizes a student who holds a formal leadership position within a club, organization or student government. This recipient is nominated by their peers or other members of the DMU community for displays of leadership, involvement and embodiment of DMU's values. Melissa Demczak, D.O.'28, received the Most Active and Engaged award, which recognizes a student who may not hold a formal leadership position on campus but is actively involved in making DMU a better place through their participation and service. This recognition is also based on nominations by a student's peers and the DMU community.

In addition to service and leadership awards, awards were given to student clubs or organizations. The Club or Organization of the Year Award recognizes a student association that has served the DMU community and embodied DMU's values and mission through educational events. Anatomy Ambassadors received this award and was accepted by President Juan Portal Figueroa, M.S.A.'28, and Vice President Emily Melvin, M.S.A.'28. The Event or Program of the Year Award recognizes a student-led event that demonstrated exceptional planning, engagement and impact. Procedure Night, hosted by Emergency Medicine Club, received this award and was accepted by President Talon Hoefer, D.O.'27, and Vice President Brittany West, D.O.'27.

To view the full list of recipients click HERE.

Located in West Des Moines, part of Iowa's capital metro, Des Moines University Medicine and Health Sciences offers 10 graduate-level professional degree programs in anatomy, biomedical sciences, health care administration, occupational therapy, osteopathic medicine, physical therapy, physician assistant studies, podiatric medicine and public health. Founded in 1898, the institution offers superior academics in a collaborative environment. DMU students' scores on national examinations, pass rates on board certifications and match rates for medical residency programs are consistently higher than national averages and rates at peer institutions.

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