College Station, TX – Karissa Yamaguchi of Phoenix, AZ, has been selected as the 2019 Texas A&M nominee for the national Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship competition. Each year, Phi Kappa Phi – the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines – awards fifty Fellowships of $8,500 each and two at $35,000 each to members entering the first year of graduate or professional study. Our chapter has a strong history in this competition; Texas A&M applicants have been awarded fellowships in 7 out of the last 10 years.
Yamaguchi received a $500 scholarship as the nominee from the local chapter. The national fellowship recipients will be announced in mid-June.
Karissa was highly involved throughout her time at Texas A&M with activities such as undergraduate research, mentoring, and volunteering work. Karissa’s interest in intricate natural biochemical processes led her to pursue a degree in Genetics, bolstered by undergraduate research, to prepare her for a career using those processes to create potent and targeted cures. She plans to pursue an M.D./M.P.H. at Stanford University School of Medicine or Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
Karissa joined Dr. Xiuren Zhang’s lab in the Texas A&M Borlaug Institute to receive training in the complexities of genetic regulation by microRNAs, and then pursued a National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (NSF-REU) in Dr. Nikolaos Sgourakis’ lab at UC Santa Cruz to refine cancer patients’ immune cells to specifically recognize cancerous cells for the development of a more targeted cure and reduce broad toxicity to patients.
Utilizing these research experiences, Karissa also enjoyed mentoring other students how to get involved in research and promote the value of higher education to officials at the university and state government as an Undergraduate Research Ambassador and member of the Academy of Undergraduate Researchers Across Texas. Simultaneously her faith and passion for medicine lead her to begin the Texas A&M chapter of Global Medical Missions Alliance, a Christian organization that seeks to equip Christian healthcare leaders through providing medical service to their partner communities in Mexico.
Through InterVarsity Christian Fellowship she explored the value and intersections between culture, social justice, and faith, and she served as a Bible study leader, mentor, and General Meeting Coordinator. Through living within an urban poor community in the Philippines one summer organized by InterVarsity, Karissa witnessed first-hand the necessity in understanding and stewarding her education and other privileges well. Upon her return, her minor in Public Health further affirmed the role of a physician in recognizing patients’ cultures, perspectives, and socio-economic contexts to deliver the best patient-centered care and promote equity through affirming the individuals she treats.
Karissa excelled both in and out of the classroom during her college career, earning a number of accolades and scholarships. Karissa represented the Texas A&M Archery Team and was a four-time All Academic American Athlete. She was a junior Gathright Award recipient and Phi Kappa Phi Outstanding Junior for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and was also selected as the Texas A&M University Outstanding Junior. At graduation, Karissa earned the Honors Fellows distinction and was honored with the Brown Foundation Earl Rudder Memorial Outstanding Student Award, the highest honor bestowed on a graduating senior at Texas A&M University.
When asked to provide advice to future applicants, Karissa answered:
“Assign meaning and discover your context.
“Live intentionally, not to craft a specific resume but to discover your passions. Reflect regularly to know what you are learning and how you are changing through each experience. When you understand your story it helps you identify why you are drawn to what you do, and why you want to push yourself even further in that area. Explaining those motives to others is then much more simple, authentic, and driven.
“Knowing who you are and the communities you are a part of is also helpful in crafting a more full story. I personally believe in a God who has hand-crafted my identities and has equipped me through both my identities and experiences to serve. As a fourth generation Japanese American, my grandparents’ experiences in incarceration during World War II necessitates my activism for people who are alienated or scapegoated by the current political rhetoric. My adoption into my Filipino host community require my commitment to not only serving the poor with dignity, but changing the structures that have forced them into intractable poverty. My identity as a Christian requires I view all people–regardless of race, socio-economic status, ability, gender, etc.–as valuable and worthy of compassion and justice and that I must play a role in promoting equity for the vulnerable. As a student and physician, I will both serve and advocate for the vulnerable.
“Overall knowing who you are and the context you exist within will help you identify your passions and the needs you are called to fill.”
MORE ABOUT THE HONOR SOCIETY OF PHI KAPPA PHI
FOUNDED IN 1897 AND HEADQUARTERED IN BATON ROUGE, LA., THE HONOR SOCIETY OF PHI KAPPA PHI IS THE NATION’S OLDEST AND MOST SELECTIVE COLLEGIATE HONOR SOCIETY FOR ALL ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES. THE SOCIETY’S MISSION IS “TO RECOGNIZE AND PROMOTE ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE IN ALL FIELDS OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY OF SCHOLARS IN SERVICE TO OTHERS.” SINCE ITS FOUNDING, MORE THAN 1 MILLION MEMBERS HAVE BEEN INITIATED. SOME OF THE ORGANIZATION’S MORE NOTABLE MEMBERS INCLUDE FORMER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ROBERT M. GATES, NASA ASTRONAUT WENDY LAWRENCE, AUTHOR ERNEST GAINES AND YOUTUBE COFOUNDER CHAD HURLEY. PHI KAPPA PHI AWARDS NEARLY $1 MILLION EACH BIENNIUM TO QUALIFYING STUDENTS AND MEMBERS THROUGH GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS, UNDERGRADUATE STUDY ABROAD SCHOLARSHIPS, MEMBER AND CHAPTER AWARDS AND GRANTS FOR LOCAL AND NATIONAL LITERACY INITIATIVES.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE HONOR SOCIETY OF PHI KAPPA PHI, PLEASE CALL 800/804-9880 OR VISIT HTTP://WWW.PHIKAPPAPHI.ORG.
###
Phi Kappa Phi at Texas A&M University 
Reblogged this on From Promise to Achievement and commented:
Congratulations to Honors Graduate Karissa Yamaguchi!