Medical student awarded scholarship

Jordyn Wirkkala is one of four medical students to be awarded $5,000 from the Dr. Burr Field Scholarship Fund for 2021. Wirkkala attends the Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine in Yakima.

The Dr. Burr Field Scholarship is given to students in their fourth year of medical school who are preparing for careers in family medicine in rural Eastern Washington.

"This year's group of applicants was exceptional. Each of these scholarship recipients grew up in small communities, and they have experienced first-hand the positive impact of rural family medicine physicians, both as patients and now as physicians," said Carl Field, Board President of the Dr. Burr Field Scholarship Fund.

"I knew medicine was my career goal and that working in a rural area, like where I grew up, was where I wanted to be," Wirkkala wrote. "The interpersonal relationships, the trust, and the full-scope practice are how I see myself practicing family medicine."

Jordyn is the daughter of Kevin and Sandy Wirkkala of Cathlamet and a 2010 Wahkiakum High School graduate.