Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences hosted its first Orange Impact event Thursday night to showcase the growing campus, the latest in medical education innovation and the incredible impact scholarships can have on students.

The event raised more than $800,000 toward a new wellness center and scholarships for OSU-CHS students.

OSU President Jim Hess said the single most prevalent barrier for students today is financial.

“Young people aren’t really questioning the relevance of higher education. Their problem is determining how to afford it, and we want to be able to provide every single student desiring higher education with financial support,” Dr. Hess said. “If we want to continue to change lives and create opportunities for this next generation, scholarship fundraising is the most pivotal thing we can do.”

Saint Francis Health System was the presenting sponsor for Orange Impact, which was attended by close to 160 people, including alumni, legislative leaders, tribal representatives and healthcare partners.

U.S. District Judge Terence Kern, his wife Jeanette Kern, and Tim Headington also pledged $500,000 toward a new wellness center on the OSU-CHS campus.

More than a dozen OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine students attended the event, some of whom have been impacted by scholarships.

Taylor Spence, a second-year medical student from Kingston, Oklahoma, addressed the audience and spoke to the importance of scholarships to her future.

“There is something incredibly meaningful about knowing that someone else believes your education is worth investing in. Right now, I’m still a student learning and asking questions. And yes, someone has decided that what I’m working toward is worth supporting. I don’t take that lightly,” Spence said.

What Spence and her classmates are working toward is making an impact on their communities once they graduate.

For the third consecutive year, OSU-CHS ranked No. 1 in the percentage of graduates practicing in Health Professional Shortage Areas and No. 8 in the percentage of graduates practicing in rural areas by U.S. News & World Report.

These rankings are evidence that the institution continues to fulfill the mission on which it was founded more than 50 years ago — to educate and train future physicians to meet the healthcare needs of rural and underserved communities, said OSU-CHS President Johnny Stephens.

“Those rankings represent more than institutional success. They represent communities gaining physicians, families gaining access to care and students transforming their education into service. That is our land-grant mission in action,” Dr. Stephens said. “Our students, faculty and staff are answering the call every day by transforming education into service, research into solutions and medical expertise into better health for Oklahomans.”