Victoria “Tia” Kozar, a third-year medical student at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, is this year’s recipient of the Edward Henderson Student Award given by the American Geriatric Healthcare Professionals in recognition of her extensive community involvement, significant leadership skills, record of academic excellence, and strong commitment to geriatrics care.
The Edward Henderson Student Award is presented to a medical student in a health professions program who is interested in pursuing a career in geriatrics and with demonstrated excellence in contributing to the field.
As an undergraduate student at Quinnipiac University, she participated in Quinnipiac’s Students-In-Residence Program a first-of-its-kind program where she resided at the assisted living community Masonicare developing intergenerational programs and sharing her skills with neighbor residents.
It was when her friend and neighbor at Masonicare started displaying signs of cognitive lapse that she reached out to the Alzheimer’s Association Connecticut Chapter for assistance on how to help her and soon after became an active volunteer of the organization, advocating and serving on the Medical Scientific Advisory Council.
Since that time, Kozar has participated in numerous other educational initiatives including founding and serving as president of the AGS Student Chapter at UConn, delivering a TEDx talk on intergenerational relationships to combat ageism, and as a student representative for the UConn Curricular Advisory Committee where she spearheaded new editions to the UConn Medical School curriculum to promote understanding of the care of older adults.
Her research study, “Pandemonium: How COVID-19 Has Impacted Emotional Experience in Older Adults,” examined how various life domains affected by COVID-19 related to emotional experiences among groups of older adults with or without a history of major depressive disorder (MDD) and will be presented at AGS23 this May. An accomplished leader and vocal advocate for the needs of older adults, Kozar has demonstrated a deep commitment to the field of geriatrics.
“It means everything to me to win this award and represent UConn Health,” says Kozar. “The reason I chose UConn for medical school was because of the Center on Aging and the mentorship, support and opportunities I have received from the geriatrics department has been absolutely incredible. This award is the pinnacle of everything I have done.”
“When it comes to improving the lives of older adults, for some the passion comes later in life, but others are born with this notion. I first met Tia Kozar long before she was a UConn Medical student, but even back then it was clear that she was going to make a difference,” says Dr. George Kuchel, chief, Geriatrics at UConn Health and director, UConn Center on Aging, University of Connecticut.
The timing of the award is bittersweet as Kozar recently learned her friend and neighbor, who was an inspiration to her had just passed and this award feels like it’s the perfect way to celebrate her memory.
Kozar will also be recognized by the Hartford State Medical Society with the inaugural 2023 Horace Wells Humanitarian Rising Star Award next Thursday.
