Hillsdale Hospital is offering up to $10,000 a year in a scholarship grant to help two high school seniors from the Hillsdale area pursue their education in the field of nursing.
Students can choose to attend school for an associate’s degree or a four-year university to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. The program aims to give assistance to students who want to invest in the Hillsdale community.
According to Nurse Educator Mackenzie Tipping, the goal is that the students would come back after graduation and work for Hillsdale Hospital in return for the financial assistance.
“We want to do everything we can to help the students in our community succeed in the field they want to be in,” Tipping said.
The application asks for a copy of the student’s transcript, letters of recommendation, and a few personal essays of about 500 words, one of which asks, “Why Hillsdale?”
“We want to know why they’re thinking they want to get into this field; why do they want to stay in this area? Why do they feel like this hospital is a good fit for them? Those kinds of things,” Tipping said.
After applying, students are interviewed by a peer board which mirrors the interviews they will go through when applying for their job at Hillsdale Hospital post-graduation. This gives them not only an opportunity to meet with hospital educators before acceptance into the program, but also real experience learning valuable job skills for the future.
Brittany Page is currently the obstetrics charge nurse at Hillsdale Hospital and went through this program herself. After receiving a phone call and a letter of acceptance as a senior in high school, Page was presented with the scholarship at an awards ceremony at her school.
Page said that the hospital communicated with her throughout her college experience, making sure she stayed on the right academic path to set her up for success at Hillsdale Hospital.
“I think it’s been very beneficial for my career,” Page said. “Hillsdale has done a great job of raising me as a baby nurse and giving me the opportunity to grow in my career.”
Page attended Davenport University in Saginaw, Michigan. But having grown up in Jonesville, Page said that she always knew she wanted to come back after school to be near her family and to invest in the community of Hillsdale.
She compared her experience working at a larger hospital while at Davenport to her experience here at Hillsdale: “At a larger facility, you know, you have multiple teams for different things, where here at Hillsdale, we have so much knowledge and so many tools in our pocket that I think as a nurse, I am very well-versed.”
Page said she hopes to continue her education in the future by pursuing a Master of Science in Nursing, and said the culture at Hillsdale Hospital has prepared her for more education in nursing.
“I think that Hillsdale has given me the opportunity and tools that I need as a nurse to want to pursue that later in life,” Page said.
