Avis
Lukach
Memorial
Scholarship
Application deadline: May 31
The Avis Lukach Memorial Scholarship is awarded locally each year to assist
health care workers who lack access to traditional scholarships,
enabling them to pursue further education in health care. The
scholarship fund was created by the late Mrs. Avis Lukach, a past
Visiting Nurse Association board member and longtime community
volunteer who believed in opening doors for non-traditional
students.
The
scholarship continues as a lasting testament to Mrs. Lukach's
vision. Anyone employed in the health care field who desires to
advance their health-care related education through formal courses,
certificate courses, or specialized training may apply for this
scholarship. Applications are for scholarship assistance in the Fall
and must be returned to the VNA Foundation office no later than May
31st. Previous recipients are not eligible for additional
assistance. Applicants are selected from the Northwest Indiana
region.
Tricia
Marie Simpson Russell
Memorial
Scholarship
Application deadline: February 1st
The Visiting Nurse Association of Porter County and the family of
Tricia Marie Simpson Russell, a nurse at the VNA until her death,
recently established a memorial scholarship to assist local individual
nursing students to advance their education.
Laura Harting, VNA executive director, says the staff was saddened
by the death of Ms. Russell in February 2008, following an auto
accident in October 2007. Ms. Russell, a primary nurse during her
four years at the VNA, “was a good role model for new nurses and was
the first to volunteer to pilot the primary/staff nurse team concept
to improve the quality and continuity of patient care,” says Harting.
According to family members, “Tricia loved being a nurse and knew
she was destined to be a nurse from the time she was a small
girl. "The nurses that cared for her as a child made a great
impression on her,” the family says, “and were responsible for her
non-wavering desire to be a nurse herself. Tricia was a truly kind,
caring generous person who believed that nothing was more important
than being a mother and a nurse.”
The purpose of the Tricia Marie Simpson Russell Memorial Scholarship
is to assist individual nursing students to advance their
education. Applicants must be able to provide evidence of
application to or current enrollment in a nursing program. Because
Tricia was a single parent, preference will be given to single
parents with dependent children. Applicants are selected from the
Northwest Indiana region. The recipient will receive a scholarship
in the amount of $1,500 in 2010.
