Two Luna Community College nursing students receive Nightingale Scholarships
June 3, 2008
Contact: Jesse Gallegos
jgallegos@luna.edu
Luna Community College nursing students Nichole Benavidez (far left) and Bernadette Aragon are pictured with LCC Health Sciences Director Conni Reichert.
Both Benavidez and Aragon are Nightingale Scholarship recipients.
Two Luna Community College nursing students receive Nightingale Scholarships
Bernadette Aragon and Nichole Benavidez, two Luna Community College nursing students, have been awarded a Nightingale Scholarship. Aragon is the first ever recipient of the Nightingale Home and Hospice Scholarship from the New Mexico Association of Home Hospice Care. Benavidez’ scholarship is from the New Mexico Center for Nursing Excellence (NMCNE) and the Nightingale Scholarship League.
The 2008 Nightingale scholars have each received $1,000. They were chosen based on their outstanding academic achievement, financial need and recommendations from faculty.
“These women are truly deserving of the Nightingale scholarship and we’re honored to acknowledge them,” said Kathleen Davis, MBA, RN, president of the New Mexico Center for Nursing Excellence. “Their dedication and sheer determination in sometimes difficult situations is testament to their desire to enter nursing. We’re proud to be able to help them on their path to achieving their degrees and happy that they are want to contribute to our future through caring for New Mexicans and giving back to their communities.”
Aragon, from Mora, is a certified nursing assistant (CNA). She has just finished successfully her LPN year of training and will continue with RN studies in the fall.
Benavidez, from Las Vegas, is a colleague of Aragon will also begin RN studies in the fall.
The Nightingale Scholarship was established in 1989 by the New Mexico League of Nursing. In 2003, the League transitioned to the Nightingale Scholarship League and formed a partnership with the New Mexico Center for Nursing Excellence to expand and support the scholarship program. More than 50 scholarships have been awarded since the program began.
The New Mexico Association of Home & Hospice care represents approximately 120 home care agency members who provide hands-on care to New Mexico residents in their homes.
The New Mexico Center for Nursing Excellence was established in 2002 as a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing initiatives to curb the statewide nursing shortage and promoting education and advancement for New Mexico’s nurses.
The Center focuses on nursing education, professional development and promoting the nursing profession in New Mexico.
For more information about the New Mexico Center for Nursing Excellence, call (505) 889-4518 or visit their Website at www.nmnursingexcellence.org.
