D e v e l o p m e n t N e w s
Anne R. Bavier
A
Stepping-Stone to the World
The Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing’s place in the world
is as outstanding as the education it provides. It is part of an institution
that US News and World Report consistently ranks as one of the
top 20 universities in the country. And it is located in a hometown that
the Corporate Resources Group describes as “the city with the highest
quality of life in the US” Together, Emory and Atlanta provide an
ideal stepping-stone into the world community.
That’s why many talented students set their sights on a nursing degree
from Emory. But that can be a difficult proposition for those who lack
the financial resources to pay for tuition. Fortunately, the School of
Nursing offers a number of scholarships, but the need is still great.
Currently, 98% of our nursing undergraduates receive financial aid, and
the greatest source of aid is loans. By graduation, they incur an average
debt of $21,470 for two years of nursing school and $30,370 for four years
of college. The cost is much higher for our MSN students, whose average
debt totals $40,000. In comparison, the average debt is $17,799 for Emory
College students, 67% of whom receive financial aid.
How can you help? Last year, nursing alumni gave an average of $78.06
to our Annual Fund. This year, we are asking alumni to increase their
gifts to $100. In doing so, we hope to raise $100,000 for the Annual Fund
to support scholarships and programs for students. When making a donation,
just indicate that your gift is for scholarships or one of the school’s
endowed scholarships (see the list following the story "One Life's
Ambition" below). By doing the latter, you also honor the person
or group for whom the scholarship is named. With your help, we can ensure
that Emory nurses make a difference in health care around the world.
Anne R. Bavier, 73MN, FAAN
Assistant Dean for Development,
Alumni, and External Relations
To make a donation contact Anne R. Bavier at (404) 727-6917. Or contribute to nursing scholarships online at www.alumni.emory.edu/supportemory/waysofgiving.shtml.
Mildred Sharkey (left) and Don W. McMillian (third from left) present a $100,000 gift to Annette Frauman (second from left), Anne Bavier, and Frank Huff to establish the Bobby L. Johnson Scholarship in the School of Nursing.
A
generous legacy
$100,000 bequest
supports nursing scholarships
Although Bobby Lester
Johnson passed away in 1993, her legacy of helping others continues. This
summer, two of her longtime friends presented $100,000 from her estate
to establish the Bobby L. Johnson Scholarship in the School of Nursing.
Her bequest will support the university’s endowment so that scholarships
from this fund will support nursing students in perpetuity.
Raised by grandparents in Milledgeville, Georgia, Bobby attended Vanderbilt
University in Tennessee to study medicine but earned a business degree
instead. After her child and first husband died, she persevered by working
as a successful fund raiser and later moved back to Atlanta after marrying
happily a second time. During the 1950s, Dan and Bobby Johnson bought
50 acres of land just outside of Jonesboro, a community south of Atlanta,
and eventually settled there. As her friends recall, Bobby was active
in the Jonesboro First United Methodist Church, the National Society of
Southern Dames, and the Boy Scouts of America. She was also a member and
leader of The Associates, dedicated supporters of Emory’s nursing
school who help provide scholarships for its students.
Bobby continued her community involvement after Dan’s death in 1977.
It was not uncharacteristic for her to invite Boy Scout troops to camp
and fish on her property or write checks to help numerous others when
the need to give struck her. She also enjoyed gardening and giving away
its bounty.
“When I came home from graduate school at Auburn on the weekends,
I would stop at Bobby’s house and pick up the basket of vegetables
she had ready for me to can,” says Mildred Sharkey, a retired math
teacher and Bobby’s friend since the 1960s.
Sharkey also recalls Bobby’s love of travel, which included interesting
trips with friend and inspirational speaker Norman Vincent Peale and a
sojourn to a Methodist conference in Africa, where Archbishop Desmond
Tutu took pity on her because of her broken foot. “When Bobby came
home, the first thing she said was, ‘You just won’t believe
who carried my suitcase!’ ” recalls Sharkey.
Don W. McMillian, a Jonesboro veterinarian and Bobby’s neighbor of
20 years, remembers her concern and compassion for others, especially
young people. “She was a mother to many,” he says.
As co-executors of Bobby’s estate, McMillian and Sharkey have worked
faithfully to sell her property and ensure that the funds be used according
to her wishes. In addition to the School of Nursing at Emory, Bobby made
scholarship bequests of $50,000 each to the Jonesboro First United Methodist
Church and to Clayton College and State University for the Boy Scouts.
Scholarships to four other organizations have yet to be awarded. As McMillian
says, “Bobby was destined to do good things.”
Valerie Shaginaw is attending Emory thanks to scholarships from the School of Nursing.
One
life's ambition
Scholarships put
nursing career within reach
Valerie Shaginaw is
and isn’t your typical nursing undergraduate. Now 30, Shaginaw has
worked a variety of jobs since graduating from Georgia Tech in 1993. Although
she contemplated becoming a surgeon, she took a break from school to work
in the “real world” instead.
For the past seven years, she has struggled to make ends meet by working
in three different laboratories, one doctor’s office, and numerous
bars and restaurants. “All the while, I struggled to find my life’s
path,” she says.
Along the way, a friend suggested she consider a career in nursing. She
soon realized that her lifelong ambition of caring for people would best
be realized as a nurse. But then another important question arose. How
could she enroll full time in the nursing school at Emory and support
herself at the same time?
Though Shaginaw is older than most of her classmates, she is typical of
nursing students when it comes to taking on a large debt to pay for tuition.
“We do whatever we can to be here,” she says. “Most of
us cannot begin to afford the cost of a nursing education.”
Still, Shaginaw has had the good fortune to receive three scholarships
from the nursing school. “I know that I would not be at Emory without
the assistance I have received through my scholarships,” she says.
“Because of the generosity of those who contribute to the nursing
school, I can completely focus on becoming a great nurse rather than worrying
about keeping the electricity on.”
Once she graduates, Shaginaw intends to return the favor by contributing
to the Emory Annual Fund to support scholarships. “Every day and
with every new experience, I am reminded how lucky I am to fulfill my
dream at one of the best nursing schools in the country,” she says.
“I believe I am becoming a strong, capable, and caring nurse that
always has the patient’s interests in mind. I will be forever grateful
for the opportunity I have been given to make a place for myself in the
field of nursing.”
Named
Scholarships for Nursing Students
The School of Nursing
offers the following as part of its
scholarship program for baccalaureate and graduate students.
| •
Ellen Bowden Scholarship • Rose Dilday Scholarship • Hilda Glenn Scholarship • Mabel Hamrick School of Nursing Scholarship • Martha J. Haughton Scholarship • Mary A. Herndon Scholarship • Arthur D. Hubert III Scholarship • Bobby L. Johnson Scholarship • Arthur D. Krotz Scholarship Fund • Ann Layfield Scholarship |
•
Cynthia Mallory Scholarship • Josephine Malone Scholarship • Anita Benteen Mitchell Scholarship • Nursing Associates Scholarship • Lelia and Lester Rumble Scholarship • Elizabeth S. Sharp Scholarship Fund • Ruth Smith Scholarship • Harriet and Ellis Williams Scholarship Endowment • Ruth Dimick Williams Scholarship |