On Monday,
November 16, J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College Educational Foundation
hosted its 2nd Annual Nursing Scholarship Luncheon honoring the many
generous benefactors and donors of Reynolds, as well as recognizing the
talented students who will serve as the nurses of tomorrow. Scholarship donors
had the unique opportunity to sit together with the students who benefit from
their generosity, giving the students an opportunity to share their future
goals and express their appreciation.
Bess Littlefield,
Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Reynolds and Executive Director
of the Educational Foundation opened the luncheon and remarked, “Students,
you’re going to meet many unforgettable people in your nursing careers. Your scholarship donors are very special
individuals on that list. We’re so glad
you can be here to thank them in person, along with our outstanding nursing
faculty and staff.”
Other luncheon
speakers included Reynolds President Dr. Gary Rhodes, Benjamin J. Warner, Chief
Nursing Officer of Henrico Doctors’ Hospital, June Quisenberry, President of
Grace Hospital Alumnae Association, and Reynolds Nursing student Amanda Wray.
In welcoming the
group Dr. Rhodes noted that Reynolds’ first class of just six nurses graduated
in 1974-1975, and since 1974 a total of 2,231 Nursing AAS degrees have been
awarded. Speaker Benjamin J. Warner added that every time he walks down a hall at Henrico Doctors’
Hospital he meets at least one nurse who graduated from Reynolds. His advice to
the students, “Be smart, keep learning and stay the course because all of us in
this room will need you one day.”
June Quisenberry told
the audience that when she attended nursing school in the late 1950’s the total
cost for her three year education, including room and board, books, and uniforms
was just $300.00. The Grace Hospital
Alumnae Association now awards scholarships of $1,000 per semester per student,
and the majority of their scholarship recipients are Reynolds nursing students.
Nursing student
Amanda Wray, a 36 year-old mother of two boys, told the heartbreaking story of
losing her husband to cancer in 2012. She noted that the silver lining in their
tragedy is that the compassionate care the family received from the nurses who
cared for them inspired her to go to nursing school. She thanked the scholarship
donors for their gifts and noted she was humbled and honored to receive
scholarships without which her nursing education would not have been possible.
Watch the video:
For more
information on the Nursing program at Reynolds please visit http://www.reynolds.edu/curriculum/nursingaas.aspx.
