"I felt a sense of weight had been lifted off my shoulders." - Julia Weiss
Two soon-to-be nurses can breathe a financial sigh of relief as they head into their final semester thanks to a scholarship from the West Valley Nurses Club.
Estrella Mountain Community College (EMCC) nursing students Chase Glenn and Julia Weiss each recently received a $1,000 scholarship from the club, which is based in Sun City West and meets monthly in the spring and fall.
“The club provides an opportunity for discussions on current nursing and medical information, fellowship with other nurses, and support for nursing students through scholarships,” said Jan Joransen, the club’s Vice President.
This is the first time the club has awarded scholarships to EMCC students. Joransen, who joined the club in 2015 after retiring from teaching at Mesa Community College (MCC), suggested setting up a scholarship fund for EMCC students because the college is one of the smaller ones in the Maricopa Community Colleges District and is located in the West Valley. She also knew EMCC Professors Dr. Roni Collazo and Amy Johnson.
“I knew Dr. Collazo from her time at Boswell’s GCU campus and Amy is one of my graduates from MCC’s Boswell campus,” Joransen said. “All the pieces fell into place to provide a great partnership going forward.”
The club plans to award two $1,000 scholarships — one in December and another in May — annually to two EMCC Block 3 nursing students.
“We chose to award scholarships to Block 3 students because they face big financial burdens with RN licensure applications during their Block 4 semester,” Joransen said.
That’s something Julia won’t have to stress over as much as she nears the finish line.
“There was a major sense of relief, happiness, and gratefulness when Dr. Collazo announced my name as a recipient of the scholarship,” she said. “I felt a sense of weight lifted off my shoulders because I knew how much the award would help toward my future expenses come this fall semester.”
Julia began attending EMCC in 2018. She received an Associate in Arts degree in 2020 and entered the nursing program shortly thereafter. She is enrolled in the Concurrent Enrollment Program, which allows students to pursue an Associate in Applied Science in Nursing through the MaricopaNursing program while pursuing their Bachelor of Science in Nursing via a university partner. Julia’s university partner is Northern Arizona University, and she is on track to graduate this fall.
“After I graduate, I plan to immediately go into the workforce,” Julia said. “I have an interest in working with the geriatric population, so I am currently looking into more opportunities surrounding that field of interest.”
Chase is also planning on going into the workforce right after he graduates, but he’s interested in the other end of the age spectrum.
“I plan to work in pediatric psychiatry for a few years until going back to school to attend a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program,” he said. “Then I’ll continue working in pediatric psychiatry with an expanded role.”
Chase, who recently transferred to EMCC from Grand Canyon University, is also in the Concurrent Enrollment Program. He is set to graduate from EMCC this fall and then his university partner, Ottawa University, in the spring.
Both students heard their calling for nursing when they were in high school. Julia realized her path during her junior year while taking a medical assisting class at West-MEC and working as a ski patroller at Sunrise Park Resort in Greer.
“Both experiences gave me a sample of what it was like to work in that type of setting,” she said. “After that, I easily adopted the dream to become a nurse.”
Chase spent much of his high school years deciding between medical school and nursing school, and then his mother got her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and his mind was made up.
“Through her, I got to see just how much nurses are able to do for their patients,” he said. “Physicians also do a ton for their patients, but there’s just something about the incomparable face-to-face care that nurses provide that pulled me in.”
Think you can’t afford college? Think again. Check out our scholarships page at https://www.estrellamountain.edu/students/scholarships