A first-generation college graduate who wants to improve rural health care has become the first West Virginia University student to win a prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholarship.

Mollie McCartney, who hails from Walkersville, Lewis County, is among an elite group of about 50 remarkable college seniors and recent graduates selected each year for the award valued at up to $50,000 a year, for six years.

She graduated summa cum laude from WVU with bachelors degrees in biology and history in May and aspires to be a rural physician.

As a rural physician, I want to accomplish several things. I plan to increase accessibility to health care among individuals by advocating for the opening of more clinics and mobile health units,McCartney said.I also plan to take an active role in the recruitment of health care workers and help to build up the infrastructure that will attract physicians and other caregivers to rural areas.

The WVU students passion for helping others extends beyond the Mountain States borders. She would like to spend part of her career working with the Indian Health Service.

I feel confident that this work will tie me to West Virginia and Appalachia, but I am ready and willing to travel elsewhere,said McCartney, whos completed service trips to the Navajo Nation and Guatemalaand even traveled to Bosnia.Although I want my career to primarily take place in Appalachia, I want to intersperse my professional life with frequent trips overseas, hopefully back to Bosnia and Guatemala and throughout the United States.

We are very proud of Mollie and her extraordinary accomplishment,said C. Peter Magrath, interim WVU president.Through her travels abroad to Bosnia and Guatemala, she has gained a new insight and appreciation for issues right here in rural West Virginia. Her career goalto be a physician serving the rural pooris a perfect example of WVU s mission as a 21st century land-grant University. She is in very distinguished company as a Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Scholar, and we look forward to her continued success as a student at the WVU medical school.

McCartney is already well on her way to achieving her dream of becoming a primary care physician. As a sophomore at WVU , she participated in research in cancer-cell biology.

And now, she is using the graduate scholarship to attend WVU s School of Medicine, which was recognized as one of the top 10 medical schools in the country for rural medicine in U.S. News&World Reports 2009 edition ofAmericas Best Graduate Schools.

Life is fleeting, and we can all use our time to improve the world in tremendous ways,she said.It is these goals that truly matter in life, and, when I am old, I want to know that I can look back and know that I did absolutely everything I could to help others.

As a college graduate, I have been given a precious gift that few people in this world know,McCartney added.As a rural West Virginian who was raised in a loving and supportive family that fought to break free of poverty for generations, I have a special perspective on life that will connect me with the less fortunate in society in ways people who have not been through that struggle cannot understand.

The first-year WVU medical student credits her faculty mentors, guidance from the Universitys Honors College and unique academic and research opportunities at WVU for laying the groundwork for the award, which she calls awonderful blessing.

This scholarship is sort of like a victory for my entire community,McCartney said.It is proof that poverty does not doom a person from the startthat rural, poor people like me can be successful. I dont really view it as a victory for myself so much as a victory for my entire family and community, if that makes any sense. Its bigger than me.

As an undergraduate, McCartney collaborated with Dr. Linda Vona-Davis, an associate professor, on research at the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center.

Dr. Davis has been my research adviser, was my professor for animal physiology and has believed in my abilities from the moment I began working with her as a sophomore,McCartney said.She has given me the opportunity to do exciting research in cancer-cell biology and has been a great source of encouragement and support throughout my time at WVU .

Other WVU faculty mentors include Bonnie Brownthe head of the Native American Studies program in the Eberly College of Arts and Scienceswho has provided support and encouragement, and history professor Robert Blobaum, who sparked her interest in Eastern European history that developed into a passion and led to her traveling to Bosnia in summer 2007.

Dr. Lisa DeFrank-Cole also provided enormous support that I firmly believed helped make this scholarship possible,McCartney said.She spent many hours helping me with the application and was always encouraging. When I was most insecure about my abilities, she was there to boost me up again and give me confidence in my talents.

DeFrank-Cole heads WVU s new ASPIRE office in the Honors College, which assists talented students like McCartney as they apply for major scholarships.

ASPIRE is a wonderful program, and I recommend that all students check it out,McCartney said.Not only does it assist in scholarships such as this, but it has also helped me and my friends apply to grad school, for school awards and for research programs.

McCartney said she loves WVU and wouldnt be where she is today without the opportunities afforded to her at the University. These include joining the Honors College, Campus Crusade for Christ, the WVU Bhangra Dance Team, Phi Beta Kappa, Association for Women in Science, Mortarboard honorary and Mountaineer Marching Band.

Its an overwhelming campus at times, but there are always professors and staff that will help students out when they need it,she said.WVU displays an extraordinary commitment to the state of West Virginia, and as the only contact and perception of West Virginia that many people see across the country, it successfully portrays West Virginia as a beautiful, generous, hardworking state that is worthy of respect and admiration.

McCartney joins a long list of WVU students who have won the countrys most prestigious scholarships and fellowships. The University has also produced 25 Rhodes Scholars, 30 Goldwater Scholars, 19 Truman Scholars and five members of USA Todays All-USA College Academic First Team.

The ASPIRE program (Advanced Academic Scholarship Preparation and Intellectual Resources Exposure), housed in WVU s Honors College, helps students begin their search for nationally competitive scholarships that suit their academic interests and accomplishments. Academically talented students are encouraged to consider applying for the following: GatesOct. 15 (national deadline); FulbrightOct. 20 (national deadline); GoldwaterOct. 24 (WVU deadline), Jan. 30 (national deadline); TrumanJan. 16 (WVU deadline), Feb. 3 (national deadline); Jack Kent CookeJan. 23 (WVU deadline), March (national deadline); and UdallJan. 23 (WVU deadline), March 3 (national deadline).

To learn more about ASPIRE , visit http://aspire.wvu.edu .

Honors College on the Net: http://www.honors.wvu.edu/