During the graduation ceremonies on Friday, August 21 and Saturday, August 22, 2026, the latest MEDEX Northwest cohorts participated in commencement exercises in Tacoma, Spokane, Seattle, Kona, and Anchorage. We are pleased to share the second cohort of MEDEX students inducted into the Pi Alpha National Honor Society. Pi Alpha is the national honor society for PA students, established by the PA Education Association (PAEA) in 2004. Its purpose is to promote and recognize notable academic achievement, leadership, research, and service among PA students and graduates.

Here are the 2026 MEDEX inductees:

ROW 1, L to R: Anchorage Class 16 – Chloe Conlon, Austin Piccolo; Kona Class 5 – Tae Kwon Lee, Rosanna Badua, Keri Togami, Alastair Pan ROW 2, L to R: Spokane Class 28 – Micha Emmel, Logan Eugenio, Maggie Goter, Nikki Johnson; Tacoma Class 12 – Bobbi Kennedy, Terah Lara ROW 3, L to R: Tacoma Class 12 – Joseph McLendon, V Nguyen; Seattle Class 58 – Nathaniel-Khalif Chesso, Samantha Chin, Anupama Garimella, Connor Given ROW 4, L to R: Seattle Class 58 – Mahlia Harniss, Nasreen Ishaq, Kaeleb Laszlo, Sam McCrea, Tracy Ravindran

The induction of these MEDEX students into Pi Alpha recognizes not only their scholarly achievements but also their outstanding leadership and dedication to improving community health and expanding access to care. This commitment reflects the shared mission of both Pi Alpha and MEDEX Northwest to cultivate leaders in the PA profession who are driven by excellence, service, and advocacy for medically underserved populations.

Induction into Pi Alpha is one of the highest honors in PA education, emphasizing the core values of scholarship, leadership, service, and advocacy. No more than 15% of a graduating class may be inducted into Pi Alpha, underscoring the exclusivity and prestige of this recognition.

Click here (or copy/paste https://paeaonline.org/our-work/pi-alpha-honor-society) for more about the Pi Alpha Honor Society.