Visit giving.UFHealth.org/seyparkmemorial
to learn more about this initiative.
New award for student excellence
honors longtime anatomy professor By TYLER FRANCISCHINE
12 | DOCTOR GATOR
The UF College of Medicine lost a colleague,
beloved friend and alumnus on Jan. 9. Sey Hee
Park, MD ’16, passed away unexpectedly from
a heart condition, leaving his co-residents and all who
knew him with a large void. Park was known for his
jovial spirit and his ability to befriend everyone he
encountered. He was a double Gator, graduating with
both his undergraduate and medical degrees from UF,
and he was on his way to completing a community
and family medicine residency.
Passionate about people, Park was investigating the
resiliency in medical students and residents. His
established a fund in his honor, the Sey Park
Memorial Fund for Resident and Student Education
and Resiliency Outreach.
“Sey helped several of his classmates and colleagues
work through personal or academic issues. He wanted
to not only provide support but look at that topic in
a systematic fashion. Hopefully going forward, it will
provide funds to support initiatives that encourage
resiliency —
peer-to-peer networking and social groups
and just supporting each other at the medical student
and resident level,” said Ki Park, MD ’06, Park’s sister and
an assistant professor of medicine at UF.
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By TYLER FRANCISCHINE
Doctor Gator is
produced by UF Health
Communications for
the MD, PhD, PA and
MS graduates, as well
as current and former
housestaff, faculty and
friends of the UF College
of Medicine.
Dean
Michael L. Good, MD
mgood@ufl.edu
President, Medical
Alumni Association
James B. Duke, MD '85
Editor
Karen M. Dooley, MAMC
352-273-5865
dooleyk@ufl.edu
Assistant Editor
Megan D. Kimmel
Contributing Writers
Doug Bennett
Tyler Francischine
Megan Kimmel
Michelle Koidin Jaffee
Styliana Resvanis
“Thinking about Sey, I remember most
his laughter, his passion and his love for
others. When he joined the residency,
we discovered his passion for a wide
variety of things: technology, Gator
athletics, family, good food and family
medicine. You didn’t have to know
Sey for long, though, to know that his
biggest passion was people.”
— Samuel Dickmann, MD ’14
Assistant professor, department of
community health and family medicine
“Sey guided me in reaching out for help,
supported me through difficult decisions
and constantly checked via text to see how
I was doing. He made me feel like I was
not alone and believed in me when
I could not believe in myself.”
— Elizabeth Harlan, medical student,
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Please send address changes
and other correspondence to:
Karen M. Dooley
UF College of Medicine
Director, Advancement Communications
1600 SW Archer Road, Suite C2-018
P.O. Box 100253
Gainesville, FL 32610
dooleyk@ufl.edu
PHOTO BY JESSE S. JONES
Members of the UF College of Medicine class of 2020
established a new award for student excellence,
named after a beloved faculty member. The Class of
2020 Kyle E. Rarey, PhD, Award for Excellence in the Anatomical
Sciences was given to second-year
medical student Colleen Cowdery
during a ceremony held Feb. 15.
To qualify for the award,
students must demonstrate
excellent academic performance
in the anatomy curriculum, exhibit
deference and gratitude for those
who donated their bodies for
medical education and exemplify
the attributes instilled by Rarey.
After students nominate their peers,
a selection committee of faculty
members deliberates and chooses
the winner.
Class of 2020 president and
academic chair Wayne Dell was
inspired to establish this award
when he learned there wasn’t
already an honor named for Rarey.
“Dr. Rarey has taught us to develop grit and how to tackle the
most difficult science of anatomy,” Dell said. “He guides us along
both the scientific and humanistic aspects of medicine.”
Rarey has taught at the UF College of
Medicine since 1984. He currently serves as
the director of the UF Center for Anatomical
Sciences Education and a professor in
the departments of anatomy and cell
biology and otolaryngology. Over the
decades, Rarey has received many teaching
awards, most recently the 2018 Lifetime
Achievement Award from the UF College of
Medicine Society of Teaching Scholars, five
Teacher of the Year awards and nine Basic
Science Teacher awards.
He said the award came as a complete
surprise to him when it was announced
during the February cadaver ceremony, an
event organized by second-year students
to honor those who donated their bodies
for medical education.
Art Direction/Design
Mary Cecelia
Photography
Jesse S. Jones
Mindy C. Miller
W. Charles Poulton
The Class of 2020 Kyle E. Rarey, PhD, Award for
Excellence in the Anatomical Sciences was given
to second-year medical student Colleen
Cowdery during a ceremony held Feb. 15.
PHOTO BY W. CHARLES POULTON
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