Mercy Health Foundation Southeast recently awarded more than $23,000 in scholarships to 23 students entering the health care field during the 2025 Scholarship Awards Luncheon at the Jackson Civic Center.
Sheila Beussink, dean of nursing at Mercy's Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing and Health Sciences, provided the keynote address at the event, recognizing the scholarship recipients' dedication to health care.
"You are choosing an honorable profession to serve others in health care,” Beussink said in a news release. “There are three things that served me well over my 35 years: ‘say yes,’ invest the time and energy into the people you work with and be resilient. I hope you find health care as rewarding, challenging and fulfilling as I have.”
The scholarship recipients include Mercy's Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing and Health Sciences students Hanna Clovis, Marki Coomer, Tiarah Davis, Addison Engelen, Elaine Flowers, Kayla Goode, Kylie Holloway, Alexis Laster, Riley Ledure, Vanessa Mungate, Charlene Penick, Carli Waites, Lexi Welter and Tara Wibbenmeyer; Southeast Missouri State University students Jenna Essner, Madison Kribs, Cameron Marchi and Sydnee Williams; Beck School of Practical Nursing student Rachael Young; Jefferson College student Alexis Keller; Southern Illinois University student Emma Shields; Three Rivers College student Hanna Crawford; and University of Missouri student Lawson Blocker.
According to the release, the scholarship program has awarded more than $1.2 million to support the education of more than 1,100 local students since its inception in 1962.
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