A ceremony to honor veterans and recognize 13 veterans who are nursing scholarship recipients from four University of Hawaiʻi campuses was held in November.
The May and Stanley Smith Charitable Trust provided 12 scholarships to help ease veterans’ financial burdens. Recipients say they are thankful for the support.
“I’ve always dreamed of becoming a nurse and this scholarship is going to help a lot financially,” said Kauaʻi Community College student Bradley Gudoy, who is a former U.S. Marine.
The Shelley Wilson Nursing Scholarship for Veterans is supporting a veteran of the war in Iraq, who served as an army medic and is pursuing her doctor of nursing practice degree at UH Mānoa.
- Related UH News story: U.S. veterans and families assisted by new nursing scholarship
- Veterans to Nursing program website
“It’s a little bit overwhelming to know that there’s people out there that really do care about us and they want us to succeed,” said scholarship recipient Ivrys Dukes. “It’s not just about the things we did, but the things that we’re able to do in the future.”
The event’s organizer, the UH Mānoa School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene, is also one of only 20 programs in country providing college credit for veterans’ past medical experience and creating quick pathways to professional nursing and employment for service members with healthcare experience.
Mary Boland, dean of the School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene, UH Mānoa said, “Hawaiʻi is a state of veterans. We have a huge military presence, both active duty and veterans, their spouses and their dependents. And we want to be a military friendly community. That’s really important to us.”
Student veterans also have friends on Capitol Hill, according to Hawaiʻi Senator Mazie K. Hirono, who serves on the U.S. Senate Armed Services and Veterans Affairs Committees.
“The good thing is that when it comes to veterans issues, there is widespread support for these kind of programs,” said Hirono. “I will continue to push for them.”
Photos from the event
View photos on the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Flickr site.
