With the new academic year quickly approaching, there have never been more opportunities for College of Nursing students to receive scholarship support. Thanks to the amazing generosity of our alumni, friends and community members, an unprecedented number of students will receive financial support as they prepare to be nursing leaders. Over the next year, dozens of new scholarships will be awarded to our students, supporting students of all types in the college. From BSN to Ph.D., our students will be able to focus more on their studies and less on the stressful financial decisions that often occur while pursuing their degrees.
Scholarships are one of the key factors prospective students use to decide where to pursue their degree. Expanding the number of scholarships our students can access allows the College of Nursing to attract the best students and reward them for their academic excellence. Additionally, providing scholarships to students is a proven way to increase graduation rates, promotes graduation in four years, and help new nurses enter the workforce with less debt.
One of the amazing scholarships that will be awarded this year is the Helping Undergraduates Succeed for Senior Nursing Students Scholarship (HUGS for SNS). This scholarship provides support for senior nursing students to encourage them to graduate. This helping hand for our soon-to-be nurses serves as a powerful tool to help bolster the nursing workforce and keep our students on the path to graduation. This scholarship, so generously established by the late Buzz Starner and his wonderful wife Marilyn, will be another tool the college has to help our students succeed. Philanthropy plays a critical role in the success of our students.
Responding to the call to promote access, ensure completion and reduce debt, the College of Nursing has been able to increase the number of named scholarships by over 30% since 2018. This represents dozens of students who will receive support. These scholarships will help to support underrepresented students, those with children, high achieving students, veterans, Ph.D. candidates, as well as many others. Without the support of our amazing College of Nursing community, our students would have more debt, more time away from their studies and fewer chances for success. The College of Nursing community plays a key role in the success of each student.
Alumni, friends and community members establish scholarships in the College of Nursing for various reasons. From memorializing the lives of loved ones or helping to support a specific type of student to paying it forward after receiving a scholarship during their studies, the community focuses on supporting our students. If you are interested in establishing a scholarship to support a College of Nursing Student, please reach out to Corey Hukill, Director of Advancement in the College of Nursing at chukill1@kent.edu or 330-672-8753.