Friends, family, classmates and colleagues have come together to honor Wake PA alumnus Ryan O’Hara, DMSc, MBA, PA-C ’18, CAQ-EM, whose life was tragically cut short by a pulmonary embolism in 2023.
Those who knew and loved him are funding the Ryan Jacob O’Hara Memorial Scholarship to support PA students at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. A crowdfunding effort raised over $34,000 from nearly 300 donors, inspiring a new goal to endow the scholarship.
“The support has been incredible,” said Kendall Woodlief, JD, MS ‘19, BS ’18, who O’Hara was engaged to marry. “Ryan would be thrilled to know that second-year PA students will travel and learn through this scholarship, as he loved his psychiatry rotation in Kauai, Hawaii. By endowing the scholarship, we can inspire not only the next generation, but every future generation of Wake Forest PAs, to carry on Ryan’s legacy of service and scholarship.”
Read more about O’Hara’s life and career in the Catalyst magazine story, “Remembering a Man with a Plan.”
To support the Ryan Jacob O’Hara Memorial Scholarship, visit the School of Medicine’s giving page. Find the scholarship in the "Select a Program" drop-down menu under the heading “Wake Forest School of Medicine Physician Assistant Program.”