Healthcare students and professionals collected a bevy of scholarships to advance their education at an annual awards ceremony in the Yorkton Regional Health Centre on Dec. 13.
The Fall Education Awards for 2017 were hosted in the Mental Health Auditorium at the hospital. The event presented scholarships to successful recipients.
The ceremony is hosted in autumn and spring every year. It is organized by the Health Foundation and TD Bank Financial Group. Since the scholarship program began, 408 awards have been handed out, totalling over $370000.
This year, dozens of students and medical professionals applied for the program. 15 applicants were selected to receive a share of the collected funds of $13700.
Suzanne Beck has won scholarships with the program before. She’ll be using the funds for her therapeutic recreation group at the Yorkton and District nursing home. She wants to add services to the program, particularly for their hard-to-reach clients.
“Every time [I win] I’m very excited because it broadens our services and the quality of life of the people we serve,” she said.
Loretta Erhardt, another scholarship winner, has been working towards a degree in nursing for 10 years. She works full-time and has been taking courses through distance education.
“[It’s been] quite challenging [and] quite time-consuming,” she said. “But I’m nearing the end.”
Erhardt’s scholarship will help her complete the final course for her degree.
“I’ve received quite a few [scholarships] from the foundation,” she said. “[They’ve] helped with the courses I’ve been taking.
“[I’m] looking forward to completing [my degree].”
Beck and Erhardt encouraged people to applying for the scholarship program.
“Apply for it,” Erhardt said. “It’s such a great program.
“Education is such a wonderful thing and it opens up so many avenues.”
