Scholarship Recipients

Congratulations Nu Upsilon Academic Scholarship Recipients!




  2020   

Nano Akoto
Masters

I was privileged to be invited to join the Sigma Nu Upsilon Chapter, a highly respected nursing honor society. I am MSN- informatics student at GCU. I also have a degree in Public Health and have worked in diverse areas in the healthcare system. My nursing journey started in Ghana until l moved to the United States and have to go through a tedious process to be made eligible to take NCLEX. 

Working in the ICU currently and being an MSN student has been a challenge especially this unprecedented season but with perseverance and God being my pillar l have maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout my classes. Nu Upsilon chapter has been a great family and I am excited to connect with others who share a similar passion.  I am honored and delighted to receive a scholarship award from this great Chapter. I am thankful for the GCU MSN program as it continues to inspire and help me achieve my dreams to help those in need. Once again thank you Sigma Nu Upsilon Chapter for the Scholarship award. I will continue to discharge my duties diligently to serve my patients, families, and the community with dignity. 

 

April Clark
Doctorate

I am humbled and honored to receive a scholarship award from Nu Upsilon Chapter!  After graduating with my MSN, FNP-BC in 1997 I had always considered pursuing the doctoral journey.  Twenty-two years flew by and I finally said it's time.  Now I find myself half-way through the DNP program at GCU and realize that the impact of this knowledge, combined with my years of clinical experience, will be monumental to further the nursing profession.  It is through scientific underpinnings and leadership skills that will bring my service to others, including staff, patients, and students, to a higher level.

I gained valuable experience after graduating from Kent State University with my BSN working at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in hematology/oncology.  After 6 years, I pursued my MSN at East Tennessee University.  As an FNP, I have worked in pediatrics, women's health, and family practice.  I also supplemented, as time allowed, at urgent care centers and ERs.  I am currently working in a family practice/retail health setting in the Denver, Colorado area as a clinic manager and provider.  I am excited to follow God's leading in the next chapter of my career following doctoral graduation and have told Him where you lead, I will follow.  As nurses we are servants.  The need is great.  He uses and equips us if we are willing.  I am grateful and honored.

Amy Ferris
Masters

Thank you to the Nu Upsilon Chapter for awarding a scholarship to help me further my career as a nurse and nurse leader! I was so grateful to have received this award! I began my Master’s after transitioning into a new position for a pediatric-focused, clinically integrated network. The education I am receiving and the current work I am doing align so well, it really reinforced the fact I was making the right choice.

I am a pediatric nurse in Colorado and have spent the majority of my career at Children’s Hospital Colorado. I started my career in 2009, and I can’t believe I’m going on 12 years! I hope to continue my career within this organization and I am so thankful to Nu Upsilon for helping me make that happen! Be well!
With Gratitude...

Jamie Hankins
Doctorate

Receiving the news that Nu Upsilon chose me as a scholarship recipient was truly an honor and unexpected blessing that came at the perfect time. I am in the dissertation phase of my doctoral journey and to receive the interest and support from Sigma and our chapter is incredibly encouraging, especially during these uncertain and difficult times.

This scholarship will be put to good use and ease my financial burden as I begin to implement my study in the coming months. I am grateful for the generosity of the Nu Upsilon chapter and hope that one day I will be able to help students achieve their goals as you have helped me. Thank you, Nu Upsilon!

Jaqueline Horn
Masters

My name is Jacqueline Horn. I've been a nurse for 10 years. These 10 years have been exciting and demanding. During this time, I've been able to get my bachelor's degree and now I'm working towards my master's as a nurse practitioner. I have worked hard to accomplish everything I have and I feel very honored to have been selected as a scholarship recipient by Sigma.

This scholarship means a lot to me. It feels great to be recognized by such a highly reputable organization. This recognition motivates me to keep moving forward and continue working on achieving my goals. This scholarship is a reminder that my work is valued and has the potential of greatly impacting our nursing field. As nurses, we are driven by our caring nature and the work we do has the potential of changing the world for good. The challenges I've encountered throughout my career have built me up to become a more dedicated professional and student. I am deeply grateful for your generosity and will do my best to keep on elevating our nursing profession.

Ruth Jean-Baptiste
Masters
I am Ruth Jean-Baptiste, a GCU student nurse in the BSN online cohort who was invited to join our Nu Upsilon Chapter of Sigma in 2019. I am deeply honored today to not only be a member since but to be an Academic Scholarship award recipient. I was thrilled when I received the email notifying me that I was the winner by our Coordinator, Ms. Maria Kelnhofer followed by mail correspondence from Doctors Pamela Love, President, and Sandi McDermott, Chair. I thank them as well as the whole Nu Upsilon committee to have chosen me among a sea of competent candidates.  
I have benefitted from the support that our chapter has extended to all its members via email chapter digest: discussion topics that entice us to deepen our knowledge, our inquiries and struggles, the need for moral and even career support, and especially amidst this pandemic, Covid-19. The Nu Upsilon chapter body is very reachable when in need. Being an online student, I enjoyed the privilege of having my Sigma induction provided online with a special touch prior to covid-19 as I could not travel to attend my induction and my graduation on two different occasions. It is tough to be working full time and be a student, but I am able to do it through the means GCU has put in place. The different online programs and loud cloud learning management system are very thoughtful and user-friendly in addition to our well-versed educators. I strongly believe that those bases made it possible to withstand covid-19 impositions that most institutions and organizations were not prepared for.
I thank God for everything (favor, family, health and etc.). I pray that I contribute much more to our nursing community as I pursue my MSN degrees and that GCU and the Nu Upsilon Chapter continue to uphold the Christian worldview that I believe is a strong anchor to our success.

Kim Katri
Masters

My name is Kim Katri, and I have been a Registered Nurse for the past 13 years. I graduated from Mendocino College in 2008 and started working for Adventist Health Howard Memorial on the Medical-Surgical floor.
During my years at Howard Memorial, I worked Med/Surg and did some time in the Intensive Care Unit and Case Management Department. In 2019, I started the RN to BSN program through Chico State University and was inducted into their Sigma Theta Tau Chapter.  I graduated in 2020, and right after my graduation, I transferred to Adventist Health Ukiah Valley Hospital at the Home department as a Command Center Nurse. 
I am registered in the Masters of Nursing Program for Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety. This degree means a lot to me. I want to improve patient safety and promote the best quality of care that nurses can give.  Thank you for the scholarship reward, and my goal is to become a mentor and strong leader to all the nurses that will enter the profession.

Tiffany Maxton
Doctorate

I feel extremely honored and grateful to receive a scholarship award from Nu Upsilon Chapter. If somebody asked me a few years ago where I would be today, I never would have thought to say pursuing my doctoral degree. However, as I continued stumbling upon the path of helping others, I ended up in the field of nursing, and from the beginning, I loved it.
As an undergraduate at Broward College, I was enthralled with the possibility of continuing my studies of nursing at the graduate level. Between completing several labs and having clinical experience, there was never a boring day. 
I came across several professors who inspired me to push through the challenging program and to continue educating myself in nursing. Due to my continuous support and love for the work that I am able to be a part of, I decided that I was going to pursue my masters degree at Nova Southeastern University. I was able to complete the masters program at Nova, and make connections with other nurse practitioners that have been more than colleagues, but are family now. By being able to give patients valuable and useful information, as well as be a part of a community where I am constantly learning new things, health related and "life" related, I knew this was the journey for me. Now that I am part of this honor society, I am excited to connect with other people who have the same passion as I do, and to continue making a difference in this field.
One thing that inspires me about having a collective chapter, is that everybody will be able to bring a variety of skill sets and backgrounds to the table, which will make this practice more diverse, in regards to making patients' experiences more attainable, affordable, and enjoyable. Overall, I am thankful to be in the doctoral program at Grand Canyon University, where I will pursue my final studies in this specialty, and bring the knowledge that I obtain from the program, as well as from my peers, to the healthcare setting. But I also want to thank the Nu Upsilon Chapter again for this scholarship and opportunity.

Claire Rogers
Masters

Hello everyone, my name is Claire Rogers and I am honored to belong to such a highly respected nursing association. I was delighted to receive a scholarship award to put towards an MSN with an emphasis on nurse education! I am originally from the UK where I trained as an RN in 1996 as part of the first cohort to complete the UK BSN as part of the UK project 2000 initiative.
I moved to the USA in 2003, where I eventually was able to transfer my licensure to the US in 2009.  Since this time I have focused on nursing in cardiology and am very proud to have become a nurse supervisor in the same specialty.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be pursuing a master's degree, but after completing my   BSN with Grand Canyon University, the care and encouragement I received from my fellow students and instructors gave me the confidence to move forward. During the study for the BSN,  I realized the scale of the potential concerns that nursing faces with the predicted decrease of nursing faculty in the near future. 
This gave me the motivation to "give back" to nursing and help be part of the solution to keeping nursing the amazing profession that it is! I couldn't be more proud to be studying with Grand Canyon University again to help achieve the dream of assisting other nurses to enjoy the career as much as I have. 
What a wonderful opportunity I have to be part of SIGMA and reach out to so many highly experienced and educated nurses from all specialties, that I may learn continually from each and every one of you and keep the beacon that is nursing shining bright and leading the way.

  2019