For Christine Lalime, a career as a physician assistant offers the perfect balance of everything she wants from her professional life.

“I am excited to work alongside a physician as a member of a team providing the best care possible for patients,” says Lalime, a second-year student at the UF School of Physician Assistant Studies, adding that she appreciates the opportunity PAs have to gain experience in a variety of specialties.

A native of Hollywood, Florida, Lalime earned her undergraduate degree at UF and was recently selected as the first recipient of the Jodi Jones Knauf Scholarship. The endowed scholarship supports medical and physician assistant students at the UF College of Medicine, rotating from a PA student to a medical student every few years.

Herbert “Bert” Knauf, MD, a graduate from the UF College of Medicine’s class of 1992, established the scholarship in honor of his late wife, Jodi Jones Knauf, a graduate of UF’s PA program who passed away in 2015 from cancer. Knauf, an ophthalmologist in Clearwater, Florida, and Jodi’s parents, Doris “Dodo” and Glenn Jones, wanted to give back to UF and create a legacy Jodi would appreciate.

Knauf hopes the scholarship will not only honor his wife’s memory and her unbreakable spirit, but that it will also encourage students to give back when they have an opportunity to do so.

“When I was told I was awarded this scholarship, it meant more to me than I can explain,” says Lalime, who worked as a medical assistant in a cardiology clinic prior to PA school and hopes to do a rotation in pediatric cardiology while at UF. “I will do everything I can to live up to the standard established by the Knaufs and dedicate myself to providing the highest-quality care to my future patients.”

This story originally ran in the Summer 2019 issue of the Doctor Gator newsletter.