WMH Foundation selects six students to receive healthcare scholarships

Published by admin on Tue, 05/23/2023 - 9:39pm

The Weiser Memorial Hospital Foundation recently announced the six winners of its healthcare scholarship. Three of those recipients were presented their scholarships during the 2023 WHS Awards Assembly held Thursday, May 11 in the school’s auditorium. From left, WMH Foundation Executive Director Kimberly Burgess, Kate Davies, Broolynn Beam, Devyn Young, and foundation board secretary Laurel Adams. The other six recipients are currently attending college. Photo by Nancy Grindstaff.
By: 
Philip A. Janquart
Winners were chosen because of their desire to work in a rural community
Weiser Memorial Hospital Foundation has selected six lucky students who were each recently awarded a $1,000 healthcare scholarships.
 Launched in 2021, the program aims to give a helping hand to students who are pursuing healthcare-related education and have a desire to return to a rural setting, among other requirements.
 Instead of two scholarships, the foundation this year tripled the number to six, $1,000 scholarships that will pay for things like books, class fees, tuition, parking passes, and a number of other expenses. 
 Picking the winners, however, was a tough job for the selection committee.
 “We had a really diverse group of applicants this year; we had some wonderful applicants,” said WMH Foundation Executive Director Kimberly Burgess.
 “It was really tough to decide,” she said. “There were so many worthy candidates; just a great caliber of students that applied.”
 The scholarship is open to graduating seniors, current college students, and those taking continuing education courses in their particular field.
 “We had kids who were just graduating, some that were already in college, some who are pursuing a master’s degree, and others who were working full-time and furthering their education,” Burgess said.
 The intent is to make sure the scholarships go to the most qualified and deserving applicants. 
 An anonymous scoring matrix is used to help achieve that goal while avoiding any potential favoritism or bias. 
 “We have three people that sit on the selection committee, and they are all really well connected in the community,” Burgess explained. “The likelihood of knowing the applicants is pretty high and they could have more in-depth information, so we really strive to make it as unbiased as possible, so everyone gets a fair shot.”
 Each applicant is assigned a number and all identifying information is whited out. Points are given for each area of the application and the ones scoring the highest are put in the best position to be selected.
 Money used to fund the scholarship came from the annual Idaho Gives campaign, which was held May 1-4. The campaign is a statewide, online giving event that allows individuals to make donations to their nonprofit of choice. The WMH Foundation had 91 donors this year for a total of $6,750, which will go toward next year’s Healthcare Scholarships.
 “We are so proud of all the individuals that applied,” Burgess said. “Of course, you would love to give scholarships to all of them.”
 Burgess and WMHF secretary and selection committee member, Laurel Adams, presented the scholarships to three of the recipients during the 2023 WHS Awards Assembly held Thursday, May 11.
 2023 WMH Foundation Healthcare Scholarship winners:
 Brooklyn Beam – Weiser High School Class of 2023. She will be attending the University of Idaho in the fall.
 Aline Cortez-Magana – Weiser High School Class of 2019. She attends the University of Idaho and is pursuing a degree in science and athletic training. She is a junior and will graduate next year.
 Kate Davies – Weiser High School Class of 2023. She will attend Lewis & Clark College and wants to be a nurse.
 Helan Hill – Midvale High School Class of 2022. She attends Montana Technical University and is working toward a bachelor’s in Biological Sciences, with a pre-med focus.
 Gabrielle Palmer – Weiser High School graduate. Attends the University of Idaho and will graduate in May 2025. She is an exercise sports and health science major.
 Devyn Young – Weiser High School Class of 2023. He is enrolled in the University of Arizona’s College of Science as a biology and pre-med candidate.
 
 

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