GALVESTON, Texas - Seventy -five students will receive baccalaureate or master's degrees from the School of Allied Health Sciences at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston in a 2 p.m. ceremony, Friday, Aug. 15, at the Moody Gardens Convention Center.A total of 51 students will receive bachelor's degrees in clinical laboratory science and respiratory care; 24 will earn master's degrees in physical therapy and occupational therapy.

Elizabeth Protas, interim dean of the UTMB School of Allied Health Sciences, will officiate at the graduation; and Dr. Brent Masel, director of the Transitional Learning Center in Galveston, will deliver the commencement address.

Masel is a board-certified neurologist whose research specialties include brain injury rehabilitation and the management of headache pain. He holds clinical appointments at UTMB and the UT Health Science Center at Houston.

According to Protas, the respiratory care graduates have already passed their National Board for Respiratory Care Entry Level Examination, qualifying them to apply for state licensure. Some of the clinical laboratory science graduates will take entry-level positions in a variety of settings, including in hospitals and clinics, and some will move directly into graduate programs.

"These graduates represent an outstanding group of students," said Protas. "Most of our master's degree graduates are occupational therapists who completed their curriculum in the spring and are already working in professional positions."

Two graduates will be honored for exceptional contributions. Merline Kunjamma Oommen, respiratory care graduate, will receive the John G. Bruhn Award for Professionalism, and Anne Elizabeth Magliolo, physical therapy graduate, will receive the Student Honor Award.

Other departmental honors will be awarded to the following students:

  • Jennifer Kristen Todd, Outstanding Student Award in Clinical Laboratory Sciences.
  • Edgardo Jose Avelar, William J. and Mary K. McGanity Student Award.
  • Jessie Virginia Meche, Award for Excellence in Occupational Therapy Practice.
  • Heather Camille Kaufman, Award of Outstanding Occupational Therapy Graduate.
  • Angela Denice Jones, Professional Excellence Award in Occupational Therapy.
  • Christopher Gilbert Martinez, Outstanding Student Award for Clinical Respiratory Care.
  • Leanne Change, Outstanding Academic Student Award in Respiratory Care.
  • Jeremiah Allan Taylor and Jennifer Kristen Todd, Outstanding Clinical Laboratory Sciences Research Poster Presentation Award.
  • Thu Phuong T. Dang, Helen H. Lao, Hien Thi-Ngoc Nguyen and Zabrina Mae Tesoro, Outstanding

Clinical Laboratory Sciences Research Award.

"Opportunities are plentiful for our grads right now," said Raymond Lewis Jr., associate dean of admissions and student affairs.

"A number will be joining the ranks at UTMB. Others will help the Galveston community at places like the Transitional Learning Center. The majority - about 90 percent - will remain in Texas, but at least one of our grads has taken an occupational therapy position as far away as Oregon."

Established in 1968, the UTMB School of Allied Health Sciences has educated more than 6,500 professionals who currently serve in the nation's health care workforce. Allied health sciences include such professions as physical therapy, occupational therapy, physician assistant, clinical laboratory scientist and respiratory care. The UTMB School of Allied Health Sciences offers all of these programs.