Lincoln South Rotary Club presented a $5,000 scholarship to Halla Looky who will be attending Bryan College of Health Sciences.
Lincoln South Rotary has a long tradition of providing scholarships to students continuing their education beyond high school.
Last year the Lincoln South Rotary Club Board along with the Lincoln South Rotary Club Foundation approved a plan to adjust the scholarship program to provide larger scholarships to students who are 1) academically qualified; 2) engaged in fields of study needed to support our community; and 3) have a demonstrated financial need.
The 2024 Lincoln South Rotary Scholarship program partnered with Bryan Health College.
The Scholarship Committee was assisted in this effort by Valerie Hunt, Director of Philanthropy and Major Gift Officer at the Bryan Foundation. In March, Bryan Health College forwarded to the Scholarship Committee the names of three students who met the criteria established by the 2023 plan.
Members of the committee - Nikki Isemann, Scott Delisi, Heather Loughman and Matt Horak met with each of the nominees during interviews held in April at the college. The committee was deeply impressed with each of the nominees---and it was obvious that each possessed a stellar work ethic and deep love for their chosen profession. After consideration, the committee selected Lincoln North Star graduate Hally Looky as the recipient of the 2024 award.
Halla thanked Lincoln South Rotary for the generous scholarship and for believing in her. She shared that she had health issues when she was younger and at one point was visiting the doctor about every 2 weeks. She became interested in healthcare but did not see many people that looked like her. So she was afraid she would not be able to make that happen.She was also exposed to third world countries, and their challenges with healthcare - actually life in general. She shared her father was from Togo and she heard from him but also had an opportunity to visit his homeland.That deepened her desire and goal to have a career in healthcare.
She understands Service Above Self and commented that she appreciated Rotary for realizing that we have shared ideals. All of her life she has worked and earned money knowing that she would have to provide for her own higher education. She again thanked Lincoln South Rotary Club for the funds and helping her work to realize her dream.
She intends to stay in Nebraska after graduation but also would like to have the opportunity to help in a third world country.
We then heard from Kelsi Anderson, Provost of Brian Health Sciences. She started by stating how Bryan believes in the power of education changing lives and supports equity in education.Kelsi will become the 5 President of Bryan Health Sciences on July 1 leading the organization into their 2nd 100 Years.
Bryan is one of 9 schools offering programs focused on nursing in Nebraska and the only one based through a hospital that has grown enrollment. They support the workforce in Nebraska - 93% of the graduates last year have secured positions in Nebraska.
Affordability is a high priority. When they raise fund it is for scholarships - none of that goes to operations. Those funds are held in endowment and only the interest is used for scholarships.
She again pointed out how important scholarships such as ours are so important - especially this year with the changes in the FAFSA (Federal Student Aid) program. FAFSA was updated but the system crashed right after it went live. Kelsi stated that most years the students and schools get notification in December but this year they are just now learning of their finance packages.
Only 19% of students graduating in Nebraska are college ready according to the ACT exam scores. Bryan changed their teaching methods in an effort to ensure all students have a fair opportunity to succeed. They applied metacognition understanding that everyone has the capacity to learn if they use their brain in the right way. The faculty is also working together to ensure they are all using the same terms and pronunciations of terms to reduce confusion.
In support of the needs of the Nebraska workforce they have included accelerated programs. They consider not only students new to the workforce but those that may be looking at a 2nd career.
She was very proud of the Medical Sciences program put in place with LPS. When students join report to Bryan for their schooling, they start as a 2nd Semester student.