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HRSA Scholarship Connects Nursing Student to Communities in Need

Accelerated BSN Degree Program student Stephanie Jean.

"From the neonatal intensive care unit personnel and home healthcare nurses that continue to provide care to my daughter, to the nurses I work side-by-side with while fulfilling clinical experience requirements as a student, I remain incredibly inspired by them and the profession," said Stephanie Jean, a student in the W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing's Accelerated BSN Degree program.

Scholarship Recipient Stephanie Jean Has Always Been Inspired by Nurses

Stephanie Jean’s pathway to the nursing profession is far more certain thanks to a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Nurse Corps Scholarship.

“It is such an honor to have been selected. The HRSA scholarship pays the full tuition for my Accelerated BSN Program as well as books and learning materials needed for my courses,” said Jean, a student in TESU’s W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing. “The scholarship also supports me with a monthly stipend, which helps tremendously since I left a full-time job to concentrate on the demands of the nursing program.”

In return for HRSA’s support, Jean must commit to serving at an eligible facility with a critical shortage of nurses – or Critical Shortage Facility (CSF) – once she completes the Accelerated BSN Program and passes the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN). The steady round of online course work, lectures and onground clinical experiences are now strategically balanced by the busy mother of two daughters – Amy, age 7, and Aria, age 32 months. Aria battles a rare chromosomal condition, 18q23, often requiring 24-hour vigilance on the part of the caregiver. Nevertheless, Jean’s focus remains on who else she can help.

“During my years in retail I always knew in my heart that there was more I wanted to do to help others directly,” said Jean, a Sicklerville, N.J., resident. When she applied to the Accelerated BSN Program, she already possessed a bachelor’s degree in social work and 10 years of retail management experience.

Jean said she literally jumped for joy upon learning that she had been accepted into the nursing program and was doubly elated to hear that she had been chosen as a HRSA scholarship recipient part of the way through the program. She has reason to celebrate – of the highly competitive Nurse Corps Scholarship national applicant pool, only 200 new and continuation awards are expected during the 2020-2021 academic year according to the Nurse Corps Scholarship Program Guide.

“We are immensely proud of Stephanie for earning the HRSA Nurse Corps Scholarship and pleased that she will have the opportunity to provide quality nursing care to underserved communities and facilities that need it the most,” said Dr. Filomela “Phyllis” Marshall, dean of the university’s W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing. “We’re gratified that the comprehensiveness of the award will eliminate many of the financial burdens associated with her degree pursuit and the selectiveness of the program underscores her distinction among the vast pool of nursing students across the U.S. who compete for the funding.”

Throughout the journey, Jean said that her contact with medical personnel, especially nurses, has been invaluable as both a student and a mother.

“From the neonatal intensive care unit personnel and home healthcare nurses that continue to provide care to my daughter, to the nurses I work side-by-side with while fulfilling clinical experience requirements as a student, I remain incredibly inspired by them and the profession.”