ATSU-SOMA student with passion for service named AACOM’s Global Scholar of the Year
Posted: May 22, 2025
A.T. Still University-School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (ATSU-SOMA) student Ruthanne Teo, OMS III, was recently named the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) Global Scholar of the Year, an award given annually to recognize students who take an interest in advancing international understanding of osteopathic medicine.
Teo said she was both excited and surprised by the honor, but once she starts telling her story it’s apparent this was something almost inevitable for her since a young age. It was then, growing up in Chandler, Arizona, she began dreaming about becoming a doctor and helping people in need of care across the world.
The spark came when she, her mother, and siblings read “Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption” by Katie Davis Majors. It tells Majors’ story of leaving the U.S. at age 18 to move to Uganda, establish a ministry, and try to uplift an impoverished community.
“That was the first time I was introduced to the kinds of hardships that are out there in developing countries,” Teo said. “It just deeply impacted my heart. I guess being a kid myself at that time I was like, wow, I want to be that for someone. I want to bring that kind of change.
“Something I also struggled with in my childhood was I had a huge insecurity of not feeling seen, just kind of being alone, feeling I could fly under the radar and no one would see. And that always opened my eyes and I would always try to look out for anyone else who’s feeling the same way. Reading about these kids in these situations, I don’t want them to be overlooked, either.”
Teo decided she wanted to be a doctor when she grew up and her mother supported that dream by helping her learn how she needed to go about achieving the goal.
When it came time to begin applying to medical schools, Teo started researching nearby ATSU-SOMA and quickly discovered how much the School, osteopathic medicine, and its mission matched up with the kind of physician she wanted to be.
“I had always been a little more holistically minded, just a huge influence from my parents, and I thought when I got my degree, I’d adapt it to be a little more holistic. I’d always loved working with my hands and thought maybe I’d figure something out there, too,” she said. “Then I’m reading the ATSU-SOMA mission statement, reading about the School, and I was like, wait a second, this is exactly what I’m trying to do. This is what I’ve been looking for.”
Teo recalls having read a lot of similar missions of other medical schools, claiming to be passionate about serving underserved populations. ATSU-SOMA, with its rotations through community health centers (CHC), stood out as one actually living that mission.
“I’ve loved working at a CHC and I can feel a difference when I do a rotation at a private clinic,” she said. “It just confirms for me that these are the patients (at a CHC) who I want to work with, and it was so cool to see I could actually make a difference and help.”
Teo has also been on several mission trips, powerful experiences where she’s seen the difference osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) can have in a community.
“One of the things that stood out to me was the lack of access to medication. We would go and have this amazing clinic and help all of these people, but what happens after this and these medications run out? Something needs to change,” she said. “With OMM, this is something I can do to help patients with my hands, something that’s free of charge, and I’m learning all of these ways to really help alleviate pain.”
After her first year at ATSU-SOMA, Teo went on a mission trip to Mexico and soon had a patient with chronic back pain. She offered to use OMM and the results were immediate.
“Just to see the look on the patient’s face, she had never had any kind of therapy before,” Teo said. “I explained every step, everything I was doing, and that moment when she felt that relief for the first time it was like, wow.”
Teo also addressed leg, knee, and neck pains with that patient, and word spread quickly from there.
“Patients started coming in asking for a massage and I ended up having my own station, and I just did that the rest of my trip. When I went for my next mission trip, they just automatically gave me my own station,” she said.
Teo is always seeking opportunities to serve. She volunteered at the Neighborhood Christian Clinic in Phoenix after returning from her first mission trip before she even started at ATSU-SOMA, and was thrilled when her third-year rotations offered a chance to go back to the clinic, now with OMM education in her toolkit.
After she graduates, her goal is to continue to provide care at a clinic where services are offered to those who need it, free of charge, including OMM.
“When I saw the award criteria I was like, well, that’s my passion, so I thought I’d apply,” Teo said. “It’s basically my whole personal mission statement.”
