Chana Birnbaum Named Touro Valedictorian
Future Medical Professional to Represent Touro’s Lander College of Arts & Sciences as Student Commencement Speaker
Chana Birnbaum was drawn to the world of medicine from a very young age. As a child, she observed the dedication and concern her physician assistant mother felt toward her patients and she aspired to emulate that.
Entering Touro’s Lander College of Arts & Sciences while studying at Bnos Binah seminary, Birnbaum was pre-med with a biology honors major and a recipient of the New York State Scholarship for Academic Excellence. Today, the class valedictorian and summa cum laude graduate of Touro’s Lander College of Arts and Sciences is employed as a medical assistant in a pediatric clinic where she’s learning about clinician patient interaction and gaining an understanding of pediatric medicine. Birnbaum is also conducting rheumatology research at Brookdale Hospital.
Besides her stellar grades and research, Birnbaum developed her leadership skills as a member of the Touro Flatbush Society of Fellows and by co-founding a committee to support fellow undergrad students pursuing medical careers. Birnbaum made time for chesed as well, volunteering for OHEL, at a dialysis unit at Brooklyn Methodist Hospital where she says she “learned to channel my empathy constructively to help patients” and for Camp Kesher, where she worked with special needs children.
“I chose Touro University because I appreciate the school’s commitment to moral values and the pursuit of knowledge,” says Birnbaum.
“I also had the opportunity to travel with Touro to Thailand as part of a bioethics course where I was able to broaden my horizons by seeing medical ethics issues play out in real time and by learning about public health,” shares Birnbaum.
She looks forward to an exciting career but says her ultimate goal is to harness her empathetic nature to have a positive impact on the lives of her patients and develop close relationships with them.
In her spare time, Birnbaum enjoys playing piano and mentoring younger students.
"Chana Birnbaum has earned a perfect 4.0 grade point average, after completing a biology honors/pre-med major. Beyond her outstanding academic record, Chana has displayed a sterling character and Midos . I am confident that she will create a Kiddush Hashem when she enters the medical profession,” said Dr. Robert Goldschmidt, executive dean of Touro’s Lander College in Flatbush.
