Noah Weaver wins the Robie Gold Medal

When it came time to pick a college, Noah Weaver knew he wanted something different. Having grown up with the cold winters in Iowa City, Iowa, the 70-degree temperatures and clear skies during his visit to Tucson convinced him to pick the University of Arizona. Now, the recent physiology and medical sciences graduate has been awarded the Robie Gold Medal by the university, one of six Senior and Provost Awards the university gives out each year.

The Robie Gold Medal is presented to two graduating seniors who meet the criteria of the award, including “personal integrity, initiative, cooperativeness, enthusiasm, humility, well-rounded interests, active participation in student affairs, service to the University, willingness to give more than required, and love of God and country.” Weaver was presented the award at the university’s commencement on May 10.

Weaver was nominated by Lucinda Rankin, PhD, associate professor of physiology on the educator scholar track, answered a pair of essay questions and completed a 30-minute interview before he was picked as the award winner. After looking through the possible awards, Weaver hoped to be considered for the Robie Gold Award.

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“That was the one that I thought I connected most with because it talks a lot about community service, a lot about giving back to U of A, and I think I've just done a really good job of that and I'm very proud of the stuff I've done,” Weaver said. “So, I thought that would be the one that would most connect with me.”

Weaver’s service to the university started in 2020 as a freshman, where he said he joined 16 or 17 clubs in order to meet people. That year, it was easy to be so involved because all the meetings were on Zoom. But as a sophomore, Weaver had to pick the clubs and activities he was truly interested in, and the three that stood out to him were MexZona Medical Services, tutoring at the SALT Center, and the UA Medical Directive. MexZona Medical Services is a student-run club that travels once a month to clinics in Rocky Point, Sonoita or Esperanza, and helps treat patients from underserved communities.

“Working with MexZona, I saw how little people have when it comes to health care because these patients come to us, and they have a laundry list of stuff,” Weaver said. “They might have hypertension, diabetes or even 10 other things. So it really showed me that, although medicine is big, we really have to be focusing on prevention, and how we can prevent those things from happening.”

Outside of his work with organizations on campus, Weaver also spent time working in the Tucson community volunteering for homeless shelters and diaper banks. In 2021, Weaver was a lead scribe in a COVID vaccine pod, where he helped Tucson residents get the vaccine. He learned that while it was easy for him to get the vaccine, it may not be that easy for everyone else.

“A lot of people don't have transportation. They may not speak the same language,” Weaver explained. “I didn't really realize that it would be tougher for some individuals from various backgrounds to receive basic medical treatment, and I really saw that at the COVID pod.”

The instinct Weaver has to help people led him to his next challenge: matriculating into the College of Medicine – Tucson’s medical school this summer, where he will join the Class of 2028. Weaver was torn between going back to the Midwest and attending the University of Iowa and staying in Tucson to become a MedCat.

“I didn't know which one I wanted to pick,” Weaver shared. “I just went with my gut, and I can't see myself leaving U of A. I feel like I have like unfinished business. It sounds cliche, but I feel like there's still a lot I can do at U of A, especially with what I want to do with like public health and the work in Mexico.”

After school, Weaver is thinking of specializing in pediatrics, either in a PICU or NICU, to potentially work alongside his mother, who is a NICU nurse.

“She kind of wants me to become a NICU physician and she can be the nurse, kind of like LeBron (James) and his son sort of thing,” Weaver joked.

Looking back at his time as an undergrad, Weaver knows how important studying physiology was to him.

“Physiology has been such a big piece of happiness that I've had,” Weaver said. “Not a lot of schools have physiology, and it's one of the main reasons why I came to the U of A. It's just grown exponentially, and I think it's still going to continue to grow. I'm so proud to be a representative of it.”