February 10, 2026
On Sept. 19, 2025, the Pisacano Foundation (PF) named the recipients of its 2025 scholarship. NCAFP members Andrea Augustine and Hannah Rayala (pictured) both received this prestigious scholarship! “Each recipient is noted as an outstanding medical student who has made a commitment to enter the specialty of Family Medicine,” the PF states. Along with a $28,000 scholarship, the “program provides educational programs, leadership training, and funding for outstanding 4th-year medical students who have been identified as the future leaders in the field of family medicine.” Only 10 scholars were named in 2025, with two from North Carolina, both of which had been very active with the NCAFP.
Andrea is a fourth-year medical student at Duke University School of Medicine on the Primary Care Leadership Track. She serves on the AAFP Foundation Board and completed the NCAFP summer programs in a rural community near Boone. According to the PF, Andrea moved to Atlanta, GA, after being born in Kerala, India. “Growing up as a low-income, first-generation immigrant, uninsured for much of her life and intimately familiar with the fear of needing medical care, shaped Andrea’s path to medicine,” her bio page states.
“My goal is to practice as both a clinician and an effective leader at the intersection of medicine, public health, policy, and community engagement — working to improve health outcomes and expand access to care for the most vulnerable among us,” Andrea says. “I am confident that the Pisacano Program will provide the mentorship, structure, and community needed to help me grow into that role.” She looks forward to how she can learn and grow through the program: “Pisacano also offers protected space to think critically about leadership: how we lead, how we sustain ourselves in this work, and how we develop the skills needed to create meaningful, lasting impact over time. Beyond the mentorship, I’m especially excited to grow alongside my cohort: learning with and from peers who will challenge me, ground me, and become lifelong collaborators as we enter the workforce together.”
Hannah is a fourth-year medical student at East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine and previously served on the NCAFP Advocacy Committee. Her PF bio page also shows how her commitment to the specialty began early: “Her commitment to family medicine is deeply personal, rooted in her upbringing as the daughter of two dedicated family physicians,” the page states. “These early experiences instilled in her a deep respect for the specialty and a desire to follow in her parents’ footsteps.”
Accordingly, Hannah has high hopes for the Piscatano scholarship. “I hope to gain mentorship, structured leadership development, and a community of peers who share a deep commitment to advancing Family Medicine,” she says. “This program fits seamlessly into my long-term vision as a family physician committed not only to patient care, but also to systems-level change. I plan to pursue additional training through preventive medicine residency or health policy fellowship and dedicate my career to strengthening primary care through advocacy, policy reform, and investment in prevention.”
Congratulations to both Andrea and Hannah!
*A version of this article appears in the 2026 winter issue of The North Carolina Family Physician, the NCAFP's quarterly magazine.
The North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians, Inc. (NCAFP) is a nonprofit professional association headquartered in Raleigh which represents over 4,300 family physicians, family medicine residents, and medical students across the state. It is the largest medical specialty association in North Carolina and is a constituent chapter of the American Academy of Family Physicians, based in Leadwood, KS.
