April 25, 2019

East Mississippi Community College Associate Degree Nursing student Lindsay Hatch has been named a recipient of the 2019 Mississippi Nurses Foundation School of Nursing Scholarship.

Hatch, who graduates in December, is among 22 nursing students statewide awarded the $1,000 scholarships.

“I am really excited about this scholarship because I know the last semester is expensive and I am trying to get prepared for that,” Hatch said.

Among other things, scholarship recipients must maintain a minimum grade point average of 2.5, must be Award of Honors recipients and must exhibit professional character, according to the Mississippi Nurses Foundation website.

“I am very, very proud of Lindsay,” EMCC Division of Nursing and Allied Health Director Dr. Tonsha Emerson said.  “She has worked extremely hard in both the clinical and classroom settings.”

Scholarship recipients are chosen by nursing program faculty at the schools they attend. Hatch was selected based on her demonstration of leadership abilities in the classroom and clinical settings, as well as in the community. 

“I would like to thank the Mississippi Nurses Foundation for providing scholarship opportunities for nursing students,” Emerson said.

Hatch, a native of Forest who now resides in Starkville, said picking a career path was easy.

“My mom was a nurse and I have always loved taking care of people, so it was just natural for me to want to pursue a career in nursing,” she said.

One student from each of the nursing schools in Mississippi is selected each year to receive the scholarships funded by the Mississippi Nurses Foundation, which is the fundraising arm of the Mississippi Nurses Association.

“The vision of the Mississippi Nurses Foundation is to be the charitable organization in the state of Mississippi that is most influential in impacting the professional image of nursing, sponsoring continuing nursing education, and funding for nursing,” Mississippi Nurses Foundation Executive Director Rosalyn Howard states on the organization’s website.