KENDALLVILLE, IND. – June 22, 2023 – West Noble High School senior Jacelynn McDonald will be heading to nursing school this fall with help from Parkview Noble Foundation’s Karen Denney Nursing Scholarship.
McDonald, a top-five graduate in West Noble’s Class of 2023, was selected as the recipient of this year’s scholarship, which is made possible by donations to the foundation from individuals wishing to positively impact the community by supporting healthcare education and advancing compassionate nursing practice.
“Jacelynn’s community involvement and passion for nursing stood out among the applicants,” said Jennifer Ledger, grateful patient coordinator, Parkview Foundation. “We are very excited to have her as the Karen Denney scholarship winner. The future of nursing looks bright with students like Jacelynn.”
“Motivated students like Jacelynn tend to become motivated, dedicated, high-performing adults,” said Gary Adkins, market president, Parkview Health North. “Those same traits are what we look for in our healthcare team members at Parkview.”
McDonald is a student in the Impact Institute’s Health Occupations Education program, which prepares students for future careers in healthcare and gives them hands-on experiences in a variety of settings while still in high school.
Those kinds of opportunities were key for McDonald, who said her most memorable experience in the program happened in the operating room. A surgeon and a certified registered nurse anesthetist took the time to share their expertise with her and help solidify her plans to pursue healthcare as a career.
“These different people have given me advice, taken me through the ins and outs of their departments, and have invested in me when I take the time to ask questions and show them that I have the will to learn more,” McDonald said. “This will benefit me in the long run because I will understand the communication aspect in healthcare.”
McDonald excelled as a student at West Noble, finishing fifth in her class of more than 150 students. Along with high academic achievement, McDonald played four years of varsity softball and two years of volleyball; served two years in National Honor Society, including being elected vice president her senior year; and took advantage of multiple volunteer opportunities in her school and community.
McDonald will study nursing at Ivy Tech Community College this fall, with plans to obtain a bachelor’s degree in the future. Her older brother was diagnosed with autism at 2 years old, so McDonald said she wants to launch her career in healthcare for him.
“I want to be successful and achieve all these accomplishments in honor of my brother,” McDonald said. “I want to be able to achieve big things in life such as becoming a nurse.”
The scholarship is made possible by the generous gift of the Denney family. Karen Denney was a caring nurse who dedicated her 35-year career to patients at McCray Memorial Hospital and Parkview Noble Hospital. During her career, she was the manager of the OB department – now the Family Birthing Center – for more than 25 years. Her last wish in the hospital was to have a scholarship that would help high school students pursue a nursing degree.
To learn more about how to support students pursuing a nursing career through the Parkview Noble Foundation’s Karen Denney Nursing Scholarship Fund, email [email protected] or call 260-266-7800.