STA Names 2025 Distinguished Alumna
Agosto 26, 2025
Alison Scholes, M.D., FACEP (’83), has been named this year’s St. Teresa’s Academy Distinguished Alumna. Dr. Scholes is an emergency physician, educator, and community leader
whose career has been defined by compassion, service, and a commitment to health equity. She graduated from STA at just 16 years of age. She says the lessons she learned within those halls – particularly from Sister Harriet, Madame Sellers, Sister Michaela, and Ms. Gallagher – instilled in her the belief that there was nothing she couldn’t do.
STA was a formative place where she was taught to think critically, lead confidently, and live her faith through service. Those values have guided her ever since. Today, Dr. Scholes serves as Medical Director of Life Flight Eagle, Assistant Professor and Docent at UMKC School of Medicine, and Chief Medical Officer of the Kansas City Teaching Clinic, a student-run clinic she founded to serve the unsheltered and uninsured. Dr. Scholes has mentored hundreds of medical students, developed educational programs, and led clinical teams in some of Kansas City’s busiest emergency departments. Beyond medicine, she founded The Power of Art, a nonprofit that honors victims of gun violence and suicide through public art, and she is an active member of her parish, where she volunteers regularly.
Dr. Scholes holds degrees from Macalester College, the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine, and Harvard School of Public Health. A proud Harvard alumna, she has been an active volunteer for the university, helping shape the vision and content of Harvard’s annual alumni weekend conferences for several years. She is deeply honored to receive this award and credits STA for giving her the foundation, strength, and faith to pursue a life of purpose and service.
Dr. Scholes resides in Kansas City, Missouri.
“I am truly honored to receive the 2025 Distinguished Alumna Award. It is a privilege to serve our community, especially those who are in need in some way, and I hope my work inspires others to help where they can.” Dr. Alie Scholes (’83)
STA invites the entire community, friends, family, and fellow alumnae, to join us in celebrating her accomplishments. The award ceremony will take place on Octubre 11 at the 2025 Alumnae Reunion during the 4:30 p.m. Mass in the STA Music & Arts Auditorium. During this special event, we will share Dr. Scholes’ inspiring story and highlight the impact she has made on the medical profession and the community she serves.
Let us come together as a community to celebrate the achievements of one of our own and to be inspired by her passion for care and compassion, and her commitment to the betterment of our community.
The Distinguished Alumna Award, introduced in 2009, recognizes an alumna who has positively and substantially influenced her profession, her community, or issues affecting society at large.