- Former Blue Springs Resident Concurrently Receives Bachelor of Arts Degree -

Kansas City, Mo. - May 28, 2009 - Elizabeth Nicole Germinder, 24, was today awarded the degree of Doctor of Medicine by the University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Medicine. She concurrently received a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree. Germinder was a part-time employee of Germinder & Associates since its founding, providing administrative support throughout her high school and later years. The degrees for completing the six year program were conferred by Betty Drees, MD, FACP, Dean, UMKC School of Medicine, at a commencement and hooding ceremony at the Kansas City Music Hall. Germinder was born in Camden, New Jersey, but grew up in Blue Springs, Missouri. She graduated with honors from Blue Springs High School and became interested in medicine while a student athletic trainer and while studying body systems in biology and anatomy.

Germinder will begin her general surgery residency in Kansas City in July with the UMKC School of Medicine residency program, rotating between Truman Medical Center, Children's Mercy Hospital, and St. Luke's Hospital. The program was one of her top choices because of its rigorous surgical training process.

"After first being exposed to the practice of medicine as a student athletic trainer in high school, I gained a profound appreciation for anatomy, medical intervention, and injury prevention. Surgery has a history unlike any other medical specialty, and while I admire the traditional methods that root the field, I find that it has a bright future. I am excited to be a part of a field which is perpetually evolving, with new techniques and instruments constantly being developed," said Germinder.

As a fifth year medical school student, Germinder was selected into the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS). The honor is a prestigious recognition and acceptance by her peers and the Arnold P. Gold Foundation. The GHHS helps to identify applicants for internships and residencies who have both outstanding clinical and interpersonal skills.

The ceremony was attended by family and friends including her mother and father, Richard and Lea-Ann Germinder, her younger brother, Joseph, 13, her older brother, Richard James Germinder, 26, chief of staff for State Sen. Brad Lager, 12th District, and his wife, Julianne O'Bannon Germinder, 26, an attorney from Butler, Missouri, her maternal grandmother from New York City, Mary-Elizabeth Barbarisi, and Robert and Barbara Germinder, her paternal grandparents from Fanwood, New Jersey.