Nutritional Sciences' Leslie Farias named Outstanding Senior at OSU

Thursday, March 2, 2017

Leslie Farias, a nutritional sciences senior in the College of Human Sciences, has been named a 2016 Outstanding Senior by the Oklahoma State University Alumni Association.

The Outstanding Senior award recognizes seniors who excel in academic achievement; are involved in campus and community activities; and have received academic, athletic or extra-curricular honors or scholarships while at OSU.

Farias has been involved with a multitude of community service programs during her time at OSU. She participated in the Retention Initiative for Student Excellence program her freshman year, and the Inclusion Leadership program her sophomore year, where she mentored first generation students, like herself, in the transition from high school to college.

She also was named a Hispanic Caucus Institute-United Health Foundation Scholar her junior year, which allowed her to serve as a medical intern in an underserved community clinic.

“My success at OSU was realizing that my future knows no bounds,” Farias said.

Farias said some of the goals she had while attending OSU were to find the major that best suited her, to make an impact in her community as a resident advisor and volunteer, to have her academic costs completely covered, and to become a Senior of Significance.

“I have had different types of success while at OSU,” she said. “I would say that the best one would be that OSU allowed me to see myself as a person who succeeds.”

Before attending OSU, Farias, who is from Oklahoma City, said she never imagined herself as a science major pursuing a career in medicine.

“I chose this major because I know that obesity is a primary nutrition-related indicator of chronic disease,” Farias said. “By understanding how nutrition plays a role in the etiology and pathophysiology of chronic diseases, I am better equipped to provide preventative care and treatment as a future healthcare provider.”

After graduation, she plans to attend the Physician Associate Program at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center with an interest in emergency medicine and orthopedic surgery.

Fifteen seniors were chosen to receive the award by the OSU Alumni Association Student Awards and Selection Committee after it met with the 49 Seniors of Significance selected in the fall of 2015 and reviewed their applications.