Muara Teweh!

The Pella Community Hospital Auxiliary recently awarded four, $800 Mary Evers Nursing Scholarships to local students to help them reach their goal of becoming a registered nurse.

Recipients for 2008 include:

• Kaela De Bruin, a 2008 graduate of Pella Christian High School, will be attending Trinity Christian College in Illinois to pursue a degree in nursing. She is the daughter of Randy and Elizabeth DeBruin.

• Sophie Metcalf, a 2008 graduate of Pella Community High School, will be attending University of Iowa to pursue a bachelor of science in nursing degree and become a pediatric nurse practitioner. She has worked as a certified nursing assistant at Pella Regional. She is the daughter of Brian and Lisa Metcalf.
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The BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation will grant $1.5 million to establish graduate-level nursing scholarships through the South Carolina Nurses Foundation, Inc. Distributed over three years, the grant will enable financial support for at least 30 nurses who will then become faculty in nursing education programs across the state.

South Carolina is experiencing a serious nursing shortage due to the retirement of a large number of nurses and the inability of state nursing education programs to expand enrollments sufficiently to meet demand. Colleges and universities currently must limit enrollments based on faculty-to-student ratios required by the South Carolina Board of Nursing (8-10 students per faculty member). Faculty are required to hold higher degrees — a minimum of a master’s degree in associate degree programs and a doctoral degree in baccalaureate and graduate programs.

“The rate of new graduate degrees for the preparation of nurses for faculty roles has not kept up with faculty retirements,” said Foundation Executive Director Harvey Galloway. “We hope our new scholarship will entice some who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford higher education to pursue a graduate degree and go on to teach others. » Read more after the jump →

Like many high school football players in small towns across Oklahoma, Ronnell Lewis has often dreamed about playing for the Oklahoma Sooners.

The odds would seem to be stacked against him, considering his hometown of Dewar is barely a speck on the map. Not much is there other than about 900 hearty souls who live surrounding a central business district that consists of a convenience store and a Mexican restaurant.

But the area along Interstate 40 about 50 miles south of Tulsa has long been known as a mecca for football players. Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman was reared and played at nearby Henryetta, only about 3 miles from Lewis’ hometown. And the 6-foot-3, 220-pound OU commit could be poised to be the next big splash, though he has played eight-man football throughout his high school career.

His college-ready frame and athleticism have prompted the Sooners to deviate from a long-standing hesitancy of most Big 12 teams to ignore recruits who don’t play on 11-man high school teams. Lewis received the first scholarship offer of the Sooners’ 2009 recruiting class.
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Shelby Winchester, a senior at Maple Grove Junior-Senior High School, is the recipient of a $500 scholarship from NAA, a seller of mortgage protection insurance in the United States.

Selected for her community service and grade-point average, Winchester will attend Alfred University in the fall, where she plans to major in athletic training. She is the daughter of William and Irene Winchester. She learned about the scholarship program through the Web site of Chris Bente, NAA national manager, at www.usmortgageprotection.net.

‘‘I enjoy athletics and will play on Alfred’s women’s soccer team,’’ Ms. Winchester said. ‘‘After graduation I would like to get a master’s degree in physical therapy, and I hope to help children and give them the chance that others have given to me.’’

Ms. Winchester volunteers with her church youth group at Bemus Point United Methodist Church as well as at two local nursing homes, Heritage Green in Pinehurst and Heritage Village in Gerry.
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The Elkhart High School Class of 2008 was awarded $536,194 in scholarship moneys. The list is as follows:

• Alexis Allen — Baylor University, $107,428; Elkhart Band Boosters “John Phillip Sousa” Award, $1,000.

• Jerry Angton — Montgomery GI Bill, $39,000.

• Jace Boykin — Army College Fund and Montgomery GI Bill, $69,600.

• Lacey Chapin — Altrusa International of Anderson County, $500; Joni Rogers Memorial, $300; Palestine Evening Lions Club J.D. Lightfoot Scholarship, $2,000; TVCC Superintendent’s Scholarship, $3,000.

• Chris Crawford — Career Colleges and Schools of Texas, $1,000; South Anderson County Chamber of Commerce, $500.

• Cassey Edwards — Elkhart Athletic Booster Club, $500; Elkhart Parent Teacher Association, $300; St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, $2,400.
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The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans has awarded four scholarships to Austin High School students.

The 2008 Hormel scholarship recipients are Vanessa Leon, Autumn C. Olsen, Rochelle J. Perleberg and Conner L. Surdy.

Each scholar will receive $20,000 to fund their college education. The state honorees were selected for the Horatio Alger State Scholarship Program because they have made academics a priority while facing and overcoming great obstacles in their young lives.

The Hormel scholarships are made possible by Richard L. Knowlton, former chairman of the Horatio Alger Association and founder of the Hormel Foundation.

Th Horatio Alger Scholars are provided with numerous resources to help them succeed while they are in college. Each student receives:
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The associate director of programming - Rod Radaker - for Clarion University’s Health Science Education Center, was on of 15 recipients of a scholarship from the National Association of Health Education Centers’ (NAHEC).

Randy and Susan Byrnes are sponsoring 15 individual $400 scholarships for Engage. Challenge. Inspire. 2008. The National Association of Health Education Centers (NAHEC) and the American Association of Health Educators (AAHE) are working together to Engage, Challenge and Inspire children and the adults to prevent disease and injury, make choices that lead to a healthy life, and build healthy communities.

Clarion University’s Health Science Education Center was established in May of 2002 under the direction of Dr. Nancy Falvo and Clarion University. The purpose of the center is to promote healthy lifestyles through interactive educational programs for individual of all ages.
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