Twenty-nine people have been awarded a total of $500,000 in scholarship money to begin or further their medical education, with a goal of adding home-grown medical staff to Olympic Medical Center.
The scholarships were announced on Sept. 18 by Bruce Skinner, executive director of the Olympic Medical Center Foundation.
“There are many people who want to go back to school to advance their careers, change career paths, or who want to start college but can’t afford to do so,” Skinner said. “We are giving significant scholarships so that we can take cost out of the equation for these students.”
Twenty-four of the 29 scholarships awarded for the beginning of the fall are to Peninsula College. Others fund continuing education beyond the offerings at the community college or help students acquire medical expertise not taught at the college.
Scholarship awardees who are on continuing scholarships (awarded for the second time) include Kayla Blodgett, Kristina Connor, Whitney Christianson, Erin Ewing, Sharon Kiplagat, Abigail Raphael, Ilene Rogers, Jack Sisson, Gloria Tietz and Michelle Williams.
First-time scholarships recipients are Joshua Bolton, IrieAna Brown, Simon Close, Devanee Cipriano, Lara Eash, Isabelle Felton, Karissa Hayter, Kayla Keller, Stacia Kiesser, Madelyn Korshoff, MeLyssa Lovell, Amanda McKoin, Alexanda Parrill, Peyton Rudd, Devon Scribner, Sharon Senner, Tila Stackhouse, Douglas Weatherly and Elizabeth Wood.
The program, launched by the foundation in September 2023 after it was suggested by Olympic Medical Center CEO Darryl Wolfe, is supported by local donors to fund the training of local students — most at Peninsula College — to fill positions at Olympic Medical Center in nursing and a variety of other health care professions, ranging from lab technicians to medical assistants.
The scholarship is a full ride in that it covers not only tuition, fees and books but also living expenses, allowing students to focus solely on their studies.
Four of the students received scholarships made possible by a donation from George Brown, in memory of his wife Barbara.
