Ten future nurses and two future radiology technologists are the latest recipients of the coveted Community Healthcare Scholarship, a philanthropic endeavor aimed at easing the financial burdens of Yavapai College students who plan to launch their healthcare careers locally.
The fall 2023 Community Healthcare Scholarship recipients are nursing students Tiffany Black, Melissa Breazeale, Margaret Gower, Shelby McCauley-Mayo, Zachary McKeown, Melina Munro, Jaycie Nelson, Laura Prokopec, Vrindavan Silva and Peter Vlahakis; and radiology technology students Mariah Begaye and Danielle Zimmerle.
The 12 recipients gathered Aug. 16 at the YC Prescott Campus to celebrate the news of the full-tuition Yavapai College Foundation scholarships with loved ones and with the people who make the Community Healthcare Scholarship possible, namely representatives of the seven area organizations that have been funding the scholarships for the past 11 years. Those organizations are the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Prescott, the Yavapai College Foundation, the Margaret T. Morris Foundation, Dignity Health/Yavapai Regional Medical Center, the Harold James Family Trust, Prescott Radiology Group, and Fain Signature Group.
The Community Healthcare Scholarship program for YC nursing and radiology technology students is believed to be one of the largest of its kind in the country. To date, Community Healthcare Scholarship partners have invested more than $1 million in YC-trained nurses and “rad techs.”
In remarks during the celebration, YC Associate Vice President of Health Sciences Dr. Marylou Mercado called the latest scholar cohort the college’s “pride and joy” and called the scholarship program a “great gift to the community” because of the high demand for healthcare professionals locally.
Dr. Kimberly Moore, the college’s new Chief Workforce Innovation Officer, told the scholarship recipients, “I am honored to be in your presence” knowing what it took personally for each scholar to earn a spot in YC’s acclaimed nursing and radiology technology programs.
Moore, Mercado and Dr. Barbara Durham, YC Nursing Program Director, all expressed absolute confidence in the scholars’ success in school and in their careers.
Mercado noted for the audience that history is on the side of the newest scholars, even if “the bar has been set.” She said 92 percent of the more than 160 prior scholarship recipients have graduated from their respective programs. Those graduates boast a 100-percent pass rate on their licensing exams and 90 percent of them are practicing in Yavapai County.
Community Healthcare Scholarship winners, meanwhile, expressed elation and gratitude for the opportunity to pursue their healthcare career dreams tuition-free.
Danielle Zimmerle, a single mother of two, said she cried for hours after news of the scholarship award arrived via email. “This is going to do so much for me. I was already looking into loans and looking into how I was going to get it done and now I’m pretty psyched,” she said.
Melissa Breazeale, who is pursuing associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in nursing concurrently, said she had been anxious about covering her school costs until learning she had won the scholarship. “I was super nervous about having to cut my work hours and being able to afford everything so it definitely meant the world,” she said, adding, “I need to bring it.”
For information about YC’s nursing, radiology and other healthcare and emergency medical career programs, visit our health and wellness page on our website.
For information about YC scholarships and how to donate, visit https://www.yc.edu/give.
