(Pictured left to right- Laurel Sanger/Dir. of GCC Nursing Program, Dr. James Sunser/GCC Pres., and Jennifer Wakefield. Assist. Dir. of Alumni Affairs)
In celebration of Nurses week, the GCC Nursing Alumni Committee has announced a new GCC Nursing Alumni Scholarship that will help future nursing program students navigate the financial obstacles that life may throw in the way of student success.
The GCC Nursing Alumni held the first ever “Gatsby Gala” fundraising dinner at Batavia Downs on Friday night.
The fund raiser dinner attracted about 50 people and proceeds from the ticket sales will go directly to the GCC Nursing Alumni Scholarship.
“The purpose for this event is to raise awareness about our wonderful nursing program that has been in existence for 45 years,” says Jennifer Wakefield, Assistant Director of Alumni Affairs at GCC.
“We have students that have severe emergency needs at times also, for example, maybe they have something going on in their family life or a financial need that is not met, maybe its non-academic related, so this scholarship is being established to help those students.”
The nursing program has a total of 275 enrolled students and many times students are required to drive to hospitals for clinical rotations.
“If they need a new tire on a car or an engine repair, they just don’t have the money for that, then they can’t get to clinical which means they can’t complete the program,” says Laurel Sanger, Director of the GCC Nursing Program.
“Financial aid in terms of grants and loans do not cover things like that, so this emergency fund can be established like for tires or a $600 engine repair, it can be just that one thing that can prevent the student from graduating.”
Sanger says there is a huge need for rural nurses right now in WNY, and hospitals are contacting the program for nurses.
“For us to initiate something like this puts us right up there with the elite schools and its a wonderful thing to do for our students,” says Wakefield.
To contribute to the scholarship, information can be found here:
https://www.genesee.edu/home/offices/alumni/alumni-events/gatsbygala/