Long Term Care Resources Program

Leadership in an Aging Society Program

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Three Gabel Interns Announced for 2003

The Duke Leadership in an Aging Society Program has named three outstanding Duke undergraduates as Gabel Interns for the summer of 2003: David Barry, Lisa Jones and Ana Panduro. Dr. George Maddox, Program Director, noted that the new Gabel Awardees have strong service backgrounds along with demonstrated potential for leadership in care for frail older and disabled adults.

David Barry is a rising senior public policy major with pre-med interests. At Duke, David has been active in volunteer service work and was elected as a student government representative to Campus Council in 2002. During previous summers, he has completed health care internships at Duke Hospital and Moses Cone Memorial Hospital in Greensboro, studied at the Duke Marine Biology Lab and worked in a brokerage firm. A special emphasis during his health care internships was orthopedics. His interests in older adults dates from early experiences with grandparents who were receiving long term care. David will intern with the Washington Policy Office of the Alzheimer’s Association.

Lisa Jones is a rising senior public policy major with pre-law interests who is also pursuing a certificate in health policy. At Duke, Lisa has been a residential advisor, a student assistant in the Office of Sports Administration, where she writes for Duke Basketball Magazine, and chair of the History Committee of the Black Student Alliance. In the summers of 2001 and 2002, she worked at the Cleveland VA Medical Center. She indicates that Dr. Deborah Gold’s class on Aging and Health and her related LEAPS volunteer work at a long term care facility were influential in solidifying her interests in working with older adults. Lisa will intern with the Office of the State Long Term Care Ombudsman at the Ohio Department of Aging.

Ana Panduro is a rising senior majoring in political science and biological anthropology with pre-med interests. A Benjamin N. Duke Leadership Scholar, Ana has an extensive history of volunteer work and received a President’s Student Service Award in 2000. Among other activities at Duke during her junior year, she was co-president of the Latino Life group, junior class secretary of the Class Council and a member of the long-range planning committee for the Catholic Student Center. In the summer of 2001 she interned with the Coastal Carolina Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. Ana, who also indicated that she was influenced by taking Aging and Health with Dr. Deborah Gold, will intern with the Duke Alzheimer’s Family Support Program.

The Gabel Family Endowment was established in 1998 by the family of Frederick D. and Kathleen Roberson Gabel to support mentored internships opportunities and leadership development for Duke students who have the potential to be the next generation of leaders to address the complex issues facing an aging society. Those issues include care and services for older adults with Alzheimer’s Disease.

2002 Gabel Interns, Alicia Mecklai, Sona Chikarmane and Jennifer Matro.
Not in photo: Eva Wilkinson.

Four Gabel Interns Annouced For 2002

The Duke Leadership in an Aging Society Program has named four outstanding Duke undergraduates as Gabel Interns for the summer of 2002: Alicia Mecklai, Jennifer Matro, Sona Chikarmane and Eva Wilkinson. Dr. George Maddox, Program Director, noted that the new Gabel Awardees have strong academic and service backgrounds along with demonstrated potential for leadership in care for frail older and disabled adults.

Alicia Mecklai is a rising senior majoring in biomedical engineering with pre-med interests. A high school valedictorian and member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society, Alicia has been an active volunteer at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in her hometown of Houston, TX, and while at Duke through the LEAPS Program at Community Life Adult Day Services and the Partnership for Literacy. She will intern with the Washington Policy Office of the Alzheimer's Association.

Jennifer Matro is a rising senior public policy major who is pursuing a health policy certificate and has pre-med interests. Ranked number one in her high school class, she has been an active volunteer leader at Duke. Among her many volunteer activities, she has coordinated Project Share, the holiday gift-giving campaign, on the Duke Campus through the Community Service Center and is the head coach for the Durham County Special Olympics Tennis Team. Jennifer also is a certified EMT and member of Duke EMS. She will intern with the Council for Senior Centers and Services of New York City.

Sona Chikarmane is a rising senior with pre-med interests who has designed her own major on culture and medicine. A high school valedictorian, president of the Duke Pre-Med Society and one of Duke's Truman nominees, Sona has done volunteer work with AIDS patients at Integrated Health Services and tutored children at Walltown Ministries. Her other learning experiences include an internship with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid in the summer of 2001 and documentary work on terminal illness in India later that year. Her internship will focus on palliative care and is being coordinated with the Duke Institute on End of Life Care.

Eva Wilkinson is a rising senior public policy major who is pursuing a health policy certificate. Eva has volunteered through the LEAPS Program at the nursing facility of the Methodist Home's Croasdaile Campus. A violinist, she is a member of the Duke Symphony Orchestra, a consultant to the Theater Development Program and currently is participating in the Duke Leadership in the Arts Program in New York City. She will intern with the Duke School of Nursing working on a program to coordinate research on improving the care of frail older adults in nursing homes.