Mission Health awarded their annual Kesha Young Health Careers Scholarship, with the aim of making college more affordable for high school seniors and college students from Western North Carolina who are pursuing careers in healthcare. Eighteen students from around the Western North Carolina region were given scholarships at a ceremony held at Mission Hospital’s Cancer Center, including Brinkley Hodshon of Burnsville, a Mitchell High School Graduate and Nevaeh Buchanan of Burnsville a Mountain Heritage High School graduate.
“Healthcare careers are dynamic and demanding, but at the core, they are professions of service and caring,” said Jorie Matijevich, Regional Vice President of Human Resources at Mission Health. “The Kesha Young Scholarship recipients are selected because these promising students are committed to creating connection with patients that bring warmth, trust, and healing during medical challenges.”
The scholarship began in 1997 and is named in honor of Kesha Young, a young woman with medical conditions requiring multiple surgeries at Mission Hospital over the course of her life. Kesha was described by her adoptive parents as embodying the characteristics that are vital to how healthcare team members engage with patients, families and visitors–with a strong spirit, warm smile and positive encouragement.
Across the country, and here in Western North Carolina, there is a shortage of healthcare workers. At Mission Health and across HCA Healthcare, we continue to work toward developing and growing a workforce to support our community.
In addition to programs such as this long-running scholarship, Mission Health also supports allied health students at eight colleges and universities in Western North Carolina with our Community Health Scholars program and we offer a number of clinical pathway programs, tuition reimbursement options, and a student loan repayment program for benefits-eligible colleagues. Our Galen College of Nursing is also right here in Asheville, and in addition to that, Mission has invested $400,000 annually in faculty support for several other WNC nursing programs.
Winners in attendance: Aaliyah Diaz; Areana Cartledge-Smith; Arianna Bah; Brinkley Hodshon; Devoria Boykins; Elizabeth Hendrix; Ezzie Noteboom; Judy Felipe De La Cruz, Kamra Harper, Katherine Alejo-Palacios; Kimberly Palacios-Lopez; Lilyan Barrett; Qiarra Martin, Salvador Lopez.
Winners not in attendance: Brianna Quiroz; Daijah Elliott, Makenna Parkins; Nevaeh Buchanan.
