LEWISBURG, W.Va. (WVDN) – Two West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) alumni received awards during a conference that celebrates the work of osteopathic medical professionals throughout the country.
The 2025 American Osteopathic Foundation (AOF) Honors Gala took place in Nashville, Tenn., in conjunction with the American Osteopathic Association’s Osteopathic Medical Education Conference.
Michael Antolini, D.O., a WVSOM 2012 graduate, and Victor Rendon, D.O., a WVSOM 2019 graduate, received the State Emerging Leader Awards for West Virginia and Delaware, respectively.
In partnership with Osteopathic State Affiliates, the AOF State Emerging Leader Award recognizes exceptional practicing physicians who provide service to others through osteopathic tenets and principles, advocacy efforts, community service and philanthropic spirit.
Antolini specializes in family medicine at Fayette Clinic/AccessHealth in Fayetteville, W.Va. He is associate faculty for the AccessHealth Teaching Health Center Family Medicine Residency Program. Antolini also serves as president of the West Virginia Osteopathic Medical Association (WVOMA). He said he is grateful to be recognized nationally for his work with patients in Appalachia.
“To be honored nationally for advancing osteopathic principles, advocating for our profession and serving communities across West Virginia affirms the values I try to live by every day as a physician. I’m especially grateful to the WVOMA for their unwavering mentorship and leadership. Being part of such a dedicated state affiliate has shaped my identity as an osteopathic physician and leader,” he said.
Rendon works at ChristianaCare in Newark, Del., and specializes in psychiatry. As a younger physician, he said he is humbled to contribute to the medical profession.
“It has been rewarding to serve the community in multiple positions within the ChristianaCare system — through my regular outpatient practice, supervising residents, working the inpatient unit/consult liaison service, and more recently, working with our outpatient addiction services team,” Rendon said. “In my third year of practice, it has been rewarding to see the long-term progress my patients have made through their mental health and addiction struggles. When I see these results, it feels worthwhile making a wider difference in the community.”
Shannon Warren, WVSOM’s executive director of alumni relations, said it’s inspiring to witness a young cohort of WVSOM physicians making strides in the osteopathic community at a national level.
“WVSOM graduates have always made an impact in their communities, whether that is locally in West Virginia or across the country. Our alumni have footprints in all 50 states, not only providing exceptional medical care but offering compassion to their communities,” she said. “The WVSOM Alumni Association is proud to see our younger alumni getting involved, contributing to the osteopathic profession and carrying on WVSOM’s legacy of educating exceptional physicians.”
Kenesha Bell, spouse of Wyatt Bell, D.O., a WVSOM 2025 graduate, was this year’s recipient of the AOF Donna Jones Moritsugu Memorial Award. Established in 1993, the award was created to recognize the impact spouses have on the success of medical students. The award honors life partners of graduating osteopathic medical students who best exemplify the support and personal sacrifice that is crucial to their partner’s success.
Additionally, two WVSOM students received the DOCARE Fund grant as part of the ceremony. Breck Wcisel, a third-year WVSOM student from Virginia Beach, Va., and Hannah Povroznik, a second-year WVSOM student from Bridgeport, W.Va., were recipients of the grant. The stipend is given to osteopathic medical students and residents for international humanitarian outreach trips to underserved or disaster-stricken areas.
