After running in the Kentucky Derby Festival miniMarathon, 87 UofL medical, dental and graduate students presented their race medals to their running “buddies,” patients from the UofL Pediatrics Division of Hematology/Oncology and other pediatric specialty departments. In recognition of the kids’ fight against life-threatening diseases, the students present their race medals to the children in a special ceremony. Read more about the UofL Chapter of Medals4Mettle here.

This marks the first year dental students participated in the event. They are: Amanda Williams, Ashley Jordan, Erik Seibt, Ivy Nguyen, Jonathan Belfore, Jordan Haire, Katelyn Fleming, Katie Kaleel, Katrine Andreasen, Kristen Kim, Krupa Patel, Matthew Rurka, Paulette Andrade, Taylor Sant and Wendell Bliss. The ceremony was held Saturday, April 29 at the Kosair Charities Clinical & Translational Research Building. View photos from the event on Flickr. 

Medals4Mettle (M4M) is an international organization in which distance athletes honor critically ill individuals by donating race medals to the patients in recognition of the patients’ grit and determination in the face of life-threatening disease. The UofL School of Medicine M4M program is unique in that the students have the opportunity to meet with their buddies prior to the race and personally present their medals to them after running. Many of the students run for the same child for several years and become friends with the patients and their families. The UofL Medals4Mettle program not only benefits the patients, but helps the students develop a sense of empathy and compassion for the patients and their families, a critical component to becoming a successful physician.