Andrew Prouty wins the Robert L. Nugent award
The recent graduate earned the award for his enthusiastic participation and service in community and University endeavors
Andrew Prouty holds up the Wildcat hand sign
Sean O'Sullivan
Chandler native Andrew Prouty graduated this May with his Bachelor of Science in physiology and medical sciences. On May 10 when he walked on stage to collect his degree, he did so as one of two 2024 Robert L. Nugent Award winners.
The Robert L. Nugent award is one of six Senior and Provost Awards the university awards annually, and it is given to two graduating seniors who “have a record of accomplishments that exemplify the high ideals of Dr. Nugent, such as active and enthusiastic participation and service in community and University endeavors.”
Prouty was nominated by Trevor Hedberg, PhD, assistant professor of practice in the W.A. Franke Honors College and Philosophy Department, answered a pair of essay questions and completed a 30-minute interview before he was picked as the award winner. Prouty happened to be visiting Disney World when he found out he won the award.
Andrew Prouty stands outside the Health Sciences Library
Sean O'Sullivan
“It was an over-the-top experience finding that out there and celebrating with my mom,” Prouty said. “I felt on top of the world. It was just a fantastic experience knowing that I had received recognition for my work within the Tucson community as well as the University of Arizona. It was pretty awesome.”
Prouty served on many University of Arizona committees during his time as an undergraduate student. He was on the W.A. Franke Honors College dean search committee, the Five Star Faculty award committee, and was a two-time committee member for the Franke Honors Common Reading.
“I also focused a lot on PATH, which is our Honors mentorship program, as the program lead of mentor development and leadership curriculum after serving for two years as a mentor,” Prouty said. “I really focused on connecting the Franke Honors College to different departments within the College of Medicine – Tucson, as well as throughout the entire university.”
Prouty’s work wasn’t only with the university. He also focused on giving back to the Tucson community, including conducting research in the borderland area focusing on gender equity in the agave industry and volunteering in different clinical settings.
“I spent time focusing on giving back to the unhoused population, working on providing free medical care and seeing how different areas within the university could provide service to different communities here, especially as a Hispanic-Serving Institution,” Prouty said. “That HSI designation was very important for motivating me to give back and stay connected with Tucson specifically.”
The sense of community that Prouty found wasn’t only at the Tucson- and university-level. He also found camaraderie within the physiology and medical sciences program.
“My favorite memory of my time here as a physiology student was truly the community,” Prouty remembered. “There was a great community of friends willing to support you in classwork, personal work, and volunteering every weekend which made it so much more enjoyable. And then having the community of support with different mentors, researchers and professors was critical to helping guide me into my future work and what I wanted to do as a physician.”
Prouty’s next step is to matriculate into the College of Medicine – Tucson medical school class of 2028 this summer. He was accepted as a junior through the Honors Early Assurance Program, where Franke Honors students can apply and be accepted to the program early.
“I'm really excited to be pursuing my medical degree and focus on integrative medicine, medical education, leadership and community service” Prouty said. “I'm still open as far as what specialty I want to do, but I think I'm going to be focusing on either endocrinology or anesthesia.”
As Prouty looks forward to continuing his time in the College of Medicine – Tucson, it’s easy for him to see how winning the 2024 Robert L. Nugent Award will help him take the next step.
“This award is going to help me by opening doors for future and continued engagement within the University of Arizona,” Prouty said. “I'm super excited to continue the journey that I have been on for the past four years here at the College of Medicine - Tucson.”