Nightingale College Students Receive Scholarships at White Coat Ceremony
Working toward its goal of supporting the next generation of nurses, the Nightingale Foundation recently awarded two scholarships to two students on the Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) track at the esteemed White Coat Ceremony. Marking the transition from one study to another, the White Coat Ceremony has a rich history as a rite of passage for those in nursing school. The ceremony provides a steppingstone for students looking to make a difference in the world of healthcare.
The funds for this cohorts’ scholarships are the first set to be awarded on behalf of the Foundation, and the first to be established by an anonymous donor. Scholarships are awarded to Nightingale students who have demonstrated academic excellence, have a high GPA following their assessment course, and are in need scholarship support. This cohort’s recipients are Linda Duran from Denver, Colorado and Chris Moore from Eagle River, Alaska, both slated to finish the program in August 2025. “Living in a predominantly Spanish speaking neighborhood, nursing has chosen me, and I am grateful for it,” said Linda. “This was my very first scholarship and having my kids, husband, and mother there to witness it was priceless. It showed them that with hard work anything is possible.” Linda, a Nightingale College alumnus, said that this program has made working, parenting, and schooling possible.
After being a critical care nurse for over twelve years and transitioning to Urgent Care after the pandemic, Chris saw the work Nurse Practitioners and Physicians Assistants were doing and decided that he could do it too. “I enrolled in the Nightingale College Family Nurse Practitioner Program to achieve my goal of helping others,” said Chris. “The funds from this scholarship will help me pay for the transportation and lodging costs associated with my travel for clinical testing. This helps ease the financial burden a bit as I currently work full time to support my family and elderly parents.” Although both scholarship recipients know that the FNP program can be rigorous, they are eager to pour dedication, compassion, and a deep sense of care for their communities into their FNP journeys.
In the medical profession, the white coat is a symbol of the devotion and trust that goes into a patient relationship. In providing an emphasis on the compassion and excellence that comes with becoming a healthcare professional, the Nightingale Foundation would love to see the awardees go out there and use this as a platform to create their own future as they finish their program. While the Foundation continues to work to provide financial resources to the next generation of nurses, they hope that these scholarships can alleviate some of the burden that nursing students are facing in order to help our country reduce the nursing shortage.