Taylor Nursing Rehabilitation Scholarship
Keeping young physicians in our region
Keeping young people in the region and replenishing the local physician workforce are essential elements of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine’s mission. Fortunately, the surrounding community generously supports that mission through scholarships. Driving down student debt is perhaps the most effective means we have of encouraging students to remain in the region to serve their neighbors — and to choose primary care specialties where the need is greatest.
Qualified students who come from Avoca, Dupont, Duryea, Moosic, Old Forge or Taylor have been able to count on support from a scholarship created by the Taylor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center Health and Wellness Fund of the Luzerne Foundation. The scholarship is based on need, merit and involvement in community activities, and first preference is given to students who intend to practice in northeast Pennsylvania. Working through the Luzerne Foundation, the Taylor Nursing Rehabilitation Scholarship is provided by the board of directors of the former Taylor Long-Term Care Center to benefit Geisinger Commonwealth medical students who are natives of the geographic area that the nursing facility served.
Here are a few Geisinger Commonwealth students who have benefited from the scholarship:
Alex Anzelmi, MD Class of 2021
Mr. Anzelmi grew up in Old Forge and volunteers with the Luzerne County Habitat for Humanity. His commitment to service drew him to medicine. “I have always found fulfillment in helping others. I want a career that requires me to never stop learning and growing as both a professional and an individual — medicine fulfills both,” he said. He hopes to pursue cardiology.
Mr. Anzelmi’s older brother, Frank Anzelmi, MD ’17, also received the Taylor Nursing Rehabilitation Scholarship during his four years of medical school. He is now a neurology resident at Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia.
Sabrina Brunozzi, MD Class of 2019
Sabrina Brunozzi graduated from Old Forge High School and worked full time to support herself throughout her undergraduate years in Philadelphia. She has been committed to women’s health through various volunteer activities over the past eight years. Dr. Brunozzi, who was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society, said, “It means a lot to me that my peers selected me as someone in our graduating class who embodies humanism in medicine and that I am someone who they would want taking care of their family members.”
Dr. Brunozzi has just begun her residency in obstetrics/gynecology at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, N.J.
Jordan Chu, MD Class of 2019
The Chu family moved to Old Forge around the time Jordan Chu graduated from high school. During his undergraduate and medical school years, Dr. Chu organized and hosted Geisinger Commonwealth’s annual 3-on-3 basketball tournament to benefit the Northeast Regional Autism Center at Friendship House. He also served on the School of Medicine’s Turkey Trot committee, which raised more than $10,000 for Friends of the Poor. Dr. Chu visited local elementary schools for career fairs to talk to kids about why he chose a career in medicine.
Dr. Chu is now in residency to become a pediatrician, training at St. Christopher’s Hospital in Philadelphia.
Jason Homza, MD Class of 2020
Upon high school graduation, Mr. Homza enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he served from 2003 through 2007, including deployment to Iraq in support of Operation
Iraqi Freedom. He received several meritorious promotions and awards during his service, including the combat action ribbon for actions in Iraq, and reached the rank of sergeant before completing his enlistment.
Mr. Homza returned home and settled in Moosic. After graduating from Wilkes University, he was hired as an 11th-grade earth science and physical science teacher at Scranton High School. The area physician shortage played prominently in his desire to change careers. “Medicine was always my dream career, but I never really took the opportunity to pursue it. The more I learned about the unique and challenging healthcare needs of our community, the physician shortages and the impact that I can have with a medical career, the more I leaned toward leaving my teaching job and starting medicine,” he said. Mr. Homza has an interest in interventional radiology.
Nicole Marianelli, MD Class of 2019
Nicole Marianelli grew up in Old Forge and has always been committed to service, volunteering at a medical clinic, an outpatient therapy facility, softball clinics and supply drives for the underprivileged. At Geisinger Commonwealth, Dr. Marianelli was a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society, the Pediatric Outreach Group, the American Medical Women’s Association and the American Sign Language Club. She created an experiment for Super Science Saturday, an outreach project for young women to get exposure to science, and has helped coach a local girls’ softball Little League team.
Dr. Marianelli has just begun a pediatrics residency at the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Delaware.
