From MLive:

After four years as a U.S. Army medic, University of Michigan-Flint senior Cameron Waites was selected for several prestigious scholarship and research opportunities that include work for Stanford University.

Waites has been named one of 15 recipients of the highly competitive National Institute of Health undergraduate scholarship program, a 10- week long summer laboratory experience with a researcher and a postdoctoral fellow.

The Army sergeant has also been selected for the Stanford Summer Research Program/Amgen Scholars Program. Each participant is matched with a member of the school’s faculty to work in one of Stanford’s state-of-the-art research facilities.

Waites, of Mount Morris, spent more than 4,000 hours in patient care with the Army.

“It was during my time in the army, and subsequent time in the Iraqi desert, that I discovered my true calling to become an M.D., Ph.D. and advance the understanding of science and medicine,” Waites said in a UM-Flint news release.

He said he decided to attend UM-Flint after learning about the honors program and health sciences degree.

“These two facets of my education would allow me to be with my family and also have an opportunity to truly stand out and make a difference in the Flint community,” he said.

The medical school hopeful will have the opportunity to advance his education at some of the most prestigious institutions in the country through the programs he has been selected for.

Washington D.C. is also on his itinerary. He is among only 25 undergraduates in the “Michigan in Washington” program, which will allow him to combine coursework with an internship that reflects his particular area of interest during the program.

Classes are taught by UM faculty but students gain access to local Washington experts in their research area.

There’s more good news for Waites.

He recently learned that the Scholarship Program Board of Directors selected him to be one of five scholars for the 2009-2010 Gallagher Koster Scholarship Program. The scholarship is awarded to outstanding, undergraduate students who need financial assistance to pursue their health-related career.

In late September, Waites will be honored among other recipients at a scholar’s dinner in Boston.

Congratulations, Cameron!