Four Scholarship Awards to be presented at 14th Annual TWU Virginia Chandler Dykes Leadership Award Luncheon Honoring Francie Moody-Dahlberg for her commitment to education, social services, the arts, and community development
Veronica Rowe, MS, OTR/L, is a student with a 4.0 GPA pursuing a doctorate in occupational therapy from Texas Woman’s University, where she plans to graduate in the spring of 2016. Rowe hopes that her degree and the knowledge she gains from it will help her advance her research in neurorehabilitation and obtain a tenured teaching position. She is receiving one of four prestigious scholarships given by Texas Woman’s University at the 14th Annual Virginia Chandler Dykes Leadership Award Luncheon, presented by Bank of Texas, Texas Woman’s University, and the Texas Woman’s University Foundation, Feb. 10, at noon, at The Belo Mansion and Pavilion. Edgemere – Dallas/SQLC Charitable Foundation is the sponsor of the College of Health Sciences Scholarship honoring Rowe this year.
Rowe is currently a clinical instructor in the Occupational Therapy Department at the University of Central Arkansas and is in the final stages of her dissertation at TWU. She is originally from Conway, Arkansas, and received her bachelor’s in psychology from Hendrix College in 1991; her master’s in experimental psychology (research) from St. Louis University in 1995; and her master’s in occupational therapy from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis in 1996.
“I greatly enjoy being able to implement my degrees in psychology, research and occupational therapy in both the clinical and research aspects of neurorehabilitation,” said Rowe.
Prior to her work as a clinical instructor, she served as a research project coordinator and evaluator at Emory University in Atlanta; an occupational therapist, PRN, at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia; an occupational therapist and OT coordinator at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland; and an occupational therapist at Saint Anthony’s Medical Center in Saint Louis, Missouri.
“Working at the Shepherd Center and at Johns Hopkins has given me invaluable insight into those who have sustained a neurological insult, such as a stroke or head injury, while my work at Emory helped me to focus on specific aspects of neurorehabilitation of the arm and hand after a stroke,” said Rowe. “Teaching at the University of Central Arkansas has broadened my horizons for dissemination of knowledge among OT students and research among OT colleagues.”
Outside of the classroom, Rowe seeks to be a leader in the profession of OT and related areas, serving as a journal and grant reviewer for the Archives of Physical Medicine, American Journal of Occupational Therapy, and the Field Initiated Projects Research Grants from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). She is a certified brain injury specialist trainer with the Academy of Certified Brain Injury Specialists and a member of the Arkansas Occupational Therapy Association as well as the American Occupational Therapy Association.
“I am extremely grateful to receive this scholarship and hope to continue to be worthy and put the opportunities that this funding affords me to good use,” added Rowe. “TWU was my school of choice based on its curriculum, delivery, and the mentorship I have received. I appreciate the distance education opportunity offered by TWU and the Occupational Therapy Department’s high standards and flexibility to accommodate nontraditional students.”
Rowe and her husband, Keith, of 17 years, have two children ages 14 and 12.
In addition to Rowe, graduate students from the remaining three TWU colleges will also be honored at the luncheon as recipients of scholarship funds: Tara L. Roush, College of Professional Education (COPE), sponsored by Geraldine “Tincy” Miller; Erin Ellis, College of Arts and Sciences, sponsored by Sis Carr; and Mary Roberts, College of Nursing, sponsored by Luther King Capital Management.
TWU’s 14th Annual Virginia Chandler Dykes Leadership Award Luncheon, Feb. 10 at the Belo Mansion and Pavilion, will honor Francie Moody-Dahlberg as the 2016 recipient of the Virginia Chandler Dykes Leadership Award. Tickets are $175 for silver patron; $250 for gold patron. For more information, call 940-898-3872, visit www.twu.edu/vcd, or email SVenable@mail.twu.edu.