HPU Class of 2024 Member Receives Strickland Trailblazer Award
HIGH POINT, N.C., Dec. 10, 2024 – High Point University Class of 2024 graduate Emerson Heckler of Mooresville, North Carolina, has been selected to receive the fourth annual Elizabeth Miller Strickland Trailblazer Award.
The Strickland Trailblazer Award was established by Elizabeth Miller Strickland in August 2020 as part of her $12 million gift to HPU. Each year, the award goes to a graduating female student who epitomizes hard work, passion for service, perseverance and determination. The recipient is awarded a $5,000 cash prize to support her transition from undergraduate studies to her next steps as an HPU alumna.
Heckler was among 10 finalists chosen by a committee of members from the Elizabeth Miller Strickland Women’s Leadership Council for the Strickland Trailblazer Award. All the finalists received a monetary award and recognition for their extraordinary accomplishments as community pioneers.
“HPU students never fail to be extraordinary,” said HPU President Nido Qubein. “The Strickland Trailblazer Award nominees exemplify the excellence housed within our esteemed university. Emerson Heckler has shown an inextinguishable enthusiasm for academics, advocacy and service. Her innovation and leadership reflect not only the values of HPU but those of Mrs. Strickland.”
Heckler graduated from HPU on May 4 with a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and a minor in Psychology. She is now pursuing a Doctor of Medicine at Wake Forest University. Committed to advancing women’s health, she aspires to become a board-certified Obstetrician-Gynecologist, dedicated to empowering women to make informed decisions about their health.
“Receiving the Elizabeth Miller Strickland Trailblazer Award has been instrumental in making my education at Wake Forest School of Medicine more accessible, allowing me to dedicate myself to my studies and serving my community fully,” Heckler said. “I am honored to carry forward Mrs. Strickland’s legacy, and I hope to pave the way for future female physicians by leading with resilience, compassion and a commitment to breaking down barriers for women in medicine.”
Throughout her undergraduate career, Heckler participated in student life, extracurricular academic activities and research opportunities. Her research played a key role in a groundbreaking project funded by the American Heart Association. Through her efforts, she identified a chemical adjuvant that, when paired with specific antibiotics, eliminated bacteria previously resistant to treatment. This innovative research was published in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy and presented at HPU’s Summer Undergraduate Research Institute (SuRI) in 2022.
Dr. Matthew Kuennen, associate professor of exercise science, strongly supported Heckler’s nomination for the Trailblazer Award. “She demonstrates a profound commitment to learning. She is an extremely proficient scientific writer and is confident enough to discuss that information with me and other senior academics in the lab. Because of the significant contributions Emerson has made on both manuscripts, she has earned first authorship on one and co-authorship on the other.”
Heckler, a Presidential Scholar and Natural Science Fellow, served as president of the Wanek School of Natural Sciences Student Advisory Board. In this leadership role, she launched a mentorship program to support first-year natural science students. She is also a member of several prestigious academic and leadership societies, including the Order of the Lighted Lamp, the Alpha Epsilon Delta honor society and the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity. Heckler is a three-time recipient of the Quell Survivor Scholarship for suicide prevention advocacy and a two-time Top Junior Neuroscience Scholar.
Heckler serves as an EMT for Forsyth County and leads triage efforts as a volunteer at the High Point Community Clinic. She plans to continue her service by working in medically underserved areas, such as her home county, Mecklenburg, North Carolina. She aspires to continue volunteering at low-income clinics and use her skills as a physician to “bridge the gap in prenatal care for vulnerable populations.”
Heidi Hatfield and Betsy Turner, co-chairs of the Trailblazer committee, said 27 candidates went through a lengthy and rigorous process before Heckler was selected as the award winner because “of the outstanding nature of her many accomplishments and her commitment to blazing a trail for other young women.”
Award guidelines require recipients to donate a portion of their prize to a charitable organization. Heckler selected HORSEpower, an organization committed to improving the well-being of individuals with physical, intellectual and emotional disabilities through therapeutic, educational and recreational equine-assisted activities. While at HPU, she volunteered extensively with HORSEpower, teaching disabled children how to ride horses. She remains actively involved with the post-graduation program.