Nursing Student Leader Honored with Dual Awards

USF College of Nursing student leader Anthony Suda has received two scholarship awards recognizing his research and achievements in aging studies and gerontology.

Suda, who serves as president of the College of Nursing student council, was recently honored with the Wiley P. Mangum Scholarship in Gerontology as well as the Ruth Boothroyd Scholarship as part of the Moms Project at the School of Aging Studies within the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences.

The Moms Project is named after three women whose academic dreams were deferred due to the Great Depression or World War II. The scholarship highlights deserving undergraduate research that focuses on three specific topics — substance abuse and its impact on families, nutrition and well-being, and positive aging.

Suda received the Ruth Boothroyd Scholarship for his research titled “Mind, Mood, & Food: The Mind Body Connection and Its Implications for Aging.”

Boothroyd, who died at the age of 95 in January, put off majoring in nutrition at Framingham State University because of family obligations and never realized her dream of becoming a dietician.

Suda said it was bittersweet when he realized the award’s namesake recently passed away.

“It’s kind of special to be getting it this year. That means a lot,” he said.

He is also grateful for faculty mentor, Victor Molinari, a professor of geropsychology, who guided him with the research. Suda is pursuing dual degrees in nursing and aging sciences.

“He’s been a tremendous help to me. He allowed me to get my feet wet in the world of research. He opened that door for me and allowed me to see what the research process was like,” Suda said.

The Wiley P. Mangum Scholarship in Gerontology is named after the USF emeritus professor who taught and did research in the Department of Gerontology for 31 years. The award’s goal is to encourage undergraduate students to pursue a career in gerontology.

USF College of Nursing student Anthony Suda (center) is awarded the Wiley P. Mangum Scholarship in Gerontology, named after the USF emeritus professor (right).

Story by Elizabeth L. Brown, USF College of Nursing