Barry University’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences recently presented several students with scholarships during the Dean’s Scholarship Reception. A total of $1.3 million in scholarships have been awarded during fiscal year 2017, with more than 200 students being recipients of some type of scholarship
Awarded scholarships include:
- Albert W. Shellan Memorial Endowed Scholarship — five awarded, all undergraduate nursing students
- Barbara Ann Nelson Endowed Scholarship — eight awarded, all undergraduate nursing students
- Baptist Health South Florida BOND Scholarship — 97 awarded, all undergraduate nursing students
- Dr. John T. MacDonald & Dr. Harold Norman Nursing Scholarship — seven awarded, combination of graduate and doctoral students in nurse practition
- Florence Bayuk Educational Trust Nursing Scholarship — nine awardees, combination of graduate and doctoral students in nurse practition
- Dr. Judith A. Balcerski Endowed Scholarship — eight awardees, combination of undergraduate nursing and graduate and doctoral students in nurse practition
- Dr. Kathleen Papes Memorial Scholarship — three awardees, graduate and doctoral students in nurse practition
- Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation Scholarship — 60 awardees, all undergraduate nursing students
- Marie A. Fitzgerald Memorial Endowed Scholarship — two awardees; graduate students in sport and exercise sciences
- Pamela & Stewart Greenstein Scholarship — eight awarded, all undergraduate nursing students
- William Randolph Hearst Endowed Scholarship — two awarded, both undergraduate nursing students
“We gather today to recognize amazing, bright and much-deserving scholarship award recipients within our College,” said Dr. Tony Umadhay, associate dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. “We would also like to celebrate and thank our donors whose endless generosity opens up the future and all its opportunities for each of our scholarship recipient.”
Myrka Don Fred, an undergraduate nursing student from Haiti, received the Forrest Flammang Fund Scholarship and the Pamela and Steward Greenstein Scholarship. She says she was motivated to become a nurse following the Haiti earthquake in 2010.
“I felt such [a] strong need to rush to Haiti and help out during this tragedy; the medical need was so great. Unfortunately, I could not go very far with my current skillset and felt completely powerless to help,” Fred said. “But in the aftermath, something changed and I was determined to change my path and be part of something greater. That’s when I decided to go to back to school to become a nurse. I embarked on a journey that would change my life forever.”
Fred adds that attending a private university like Barry was a big risk, especially since she was a mother of two with a steady job. Nevertheless, she was determined to start nursing school thanks in part to these types of scholarships.
“Every scholarship award recipient has a unique story to tell about how the scholarship opened their world, helped them achieve their goals and provided them the opportunity to make a difference,” said Dr. John McFadden, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences.