- Burnett School College of Medicine
Three UCF College of Medicine students – two undergraduates at the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences and one M.D. student — have been named recipients of the 2013 Order of Pegasus, the most prestigious student award that can be attained at the university.
The College of Medicine honorees are among 19 students to receive the award, for academic achievement, leadership and university and community involvement. The three are:
- William Furiosi, a biomedical sciences major
- Heardley Moses Murdock, a molecular biology and microbiology major
- Mitchell Popovetsky, a member of the charter M.D. class
William has earned a 4.0 in the competitive molecular biology and microbiology major and earned the President’s Honor Roll, President’s List and is a Founder’s Scholar, President’s Scholar, Pegasus Gold Scholar and a Bright Futures Scholar. He is also expanding his perspective with a minor in coaching.
He has served as director of athletics for the Honors Congress and is currently president of the UCF Ultimate Frisbee Club. A teaching assistant in both Human Anatomy and Quantitative Biological Methods, William “is an excellent teacher and I’m very happy to have him in the lab,” wrote Dr. Robert Borgon, assistant professor at the Burnett school, in his nomination letter.
William was recently selected among many applicants for a special Clinical Research Program at Florida Hospital. The year-long program includes classroom teaching, shadowing doctors and analyzing clinical research study data.
In nominating, Moses, Dr. Borgon outlined his students’ outstanding academic record and described Moses as having “one of the sharpest minds I’ve ever come across, yet at the same time he is very down to earth and easy to get along with.”
An avid reader, Moses “has one of the biggest thirsts for knowledge I’ve ever seen,” Dr. Borgon said, noting that the Order of Pegasus nominee holds a 4.0 grade point average in his major, earned first place in the 2009 Provost Essay, was the 2010-2011 Organic Chemistry Student of the Year and is the recipient of several scholarships and honor society designations.
Off-campus, Moses is a part of the Burnett Community Scholars, mentors underserved middle school students in math, and volunteers at Shepherd’s Hope and the Orlando Health Cardiac Unit Healing Arts Program, where he plays violin and cello for patients and their families. “Moses has potential to be a great scholar and contributor in both science and medicine,” Dr. Borgon wrote.
In her nomination of Mitch, Dr. Marcy Verduin, assistant dean for students, outlined his academic achievements and his contributions as a member of the college’s first class. She noted that Mitch was a founding member of the College of Medicine Student Council and created important events that have become medical school traditions, including the Cadaver Send-Off Ceremony, Hygeia and Multicultural Day.
“Mitch’s dedication to community is one of his greatest strengths,” Dr. Verduin wrote, noting that he was the founding director of the students Adopt-a-Senior program in Osceola County, which became the first pre-clerkship elective approved and offered at the College of Medicine.
“One of his professors described him as ‘a gifted medical student. He is the medical student I would want caring for my son, wife or other family members,’” Dr. Verduin wrote.