FOR RELEASE: Thursday, June 21, 2007
Nursing Student: Scholarships Make College, Raising Family Possible
Anastacia Miller enjoys time with her children, Olivia and Ethan.
Anastacia Miller of Prairie Grove takes two passengers when she drives to class at the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing, but they aren't fellow students at the University of Arkansas.
She drops off her daughter, Olivia, 5, at Community Preschool on Leverett Avenue in Fayetteville and her son, Ethan, 2, at the Infant Development Center on the Fayetteville campus.
Earning her college degree – a bachelor of science in nursing – while taking care of her two children would not have been possible without support she received in scholarships from the College of Education and Health Professions, Miller said.
Miller won the David R. Banks Endowed Scholarship in Nursing, the Mervin Harold Davis Memorial Scholarship for Nursing and the Nelda W. Richter Scholarship in Nursing. The college awarded scholarships to nearly 200 students for the upcoming academic year. Miller's three scholarships are the most awarded to one student.
Gifts from individuals, companies and foundations to the college make these scholarships possible, and despite substantial growth in the college's scholarship endowments, student need still outpaces available assistance. More than 800 students applied for scholarships last year.
"Without the scholarship assistance, I would have to get a part-time job and I don't know how in the world I would do it," Miller said. "The time with my kids is precious to me. The scholarships take some of the burden away and allow us more time together. I want to say thank you for this support."
After her graduation from high school, Miller took a training course to become a certified nurse assistant and worked for two years in a rehabilitation nursing home.
"I really enjoyed that work," she said. "The patients felt like family. A lot of them didn't have visitors and we formed a bond."
While she enjoyed the one-on-one contact she had caring for the residents, Miller wanted to expand her medical knowledge. Certified nurse assistants help people with activities of daily living and some basic nursing procedures, but Miller was ready to go further and for that she needed more education. She previously received assistance from the Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund of Washington County.
"I don't have any classes this summer, so one of my goals is to study for licensed practical nurse certification," she said.
Once she earns her bachelor's degree, she will be eligible to sit for the registered nurse licensure exam. Registered nurses and licensed practical nurses are responsible for much of the basic medical care of patients, and they supervise certified nurse assistants in health care settings.
At home, Olivia likes to play nurse like her mom. She wears a scrub cap and rubber gloves and pulls out her stethoscope to listen to her little brother's lungs.
Miller's not sure what she wants to do after graduation. She has two clinical rotations left to do, one working with school nurses, possibly in the Prairie Grove School District, and one in the critical care unit at Washington Regional in Fayetteville.
"I can't make up my mind," she said. "A clinic would be ideal because the work would be days on Monday through Friday, but experience in a hospital is valuable, too. I liked working at the nursery at Washington Regional Medical Center during clinical rotations."
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Contact:
Heidi Stambuck, director of communications
College of Education and Health Professions
(479) 575-3138, stambuck@uark.edu