Two nursing students with very different paths toward their studies will continue their schooling with assistance from the Maria Petti Memorial Scholarship.
Lori Jones of Chesterton and Madisyn Perry of Union Township received the scholarship, which is available to Porter and LaPorte County students seeking a career in the surgical field with awards of up to $5,000.
After earning her associates degree, Jones turned her focus to raising her sons and sending them to college. With the support and encouragement of her boys, she returned to school at Purdue University Northwest and will graduate in December with a bachelor’s degree in nursing. Her goal is to work in healthcare management.
“I am honored to receive a scholarship that pays tribute to a surgical nursing legacy, Maria Petti. Surgical services is the hidden gem of the hospital. It concentrates on anatomy, disease and critical thinking while using a teamwork approach,” Jones said. “Nursing is both a science and an art encompassing compassion for the sick, focusing not only on the science and anatomy, but on their patient's emotional, social and spiritual conditions. And that is what drew me into healthcare and nursing.”
Perry is a Wheeler High School graduate currently studying nursing at Purdue University in West Lafayette. She also works as a patient care novice at the Franciscan Health Michigan City progressive care unit (PCU), assisting patients with their everyday needs. The work runs in the family, with her older sister, Brooklyn, recently completing a nursing degree.
“All my life since fifth grade, I wanted to be a nurse. It’s the anatomy of how the body works and compassion for helping people, being able to walk with them in some of their hardest moments of life,” Perry said, adding that receiving the scholarship is a “major blessing” that will help her focus on her studies to get the best grades possible.
The Maria Petti Memorial Scholarship was established as a living memorial to Maria Petti, Franciscan Health Michigan City peri-operative director. She nurtured and inspired many students she mentored over her 35 years at the hospital. The scholarship was created to ensure that her passion for healthcare and the operating room environment she so loved will live on.
Anyone interested in donating to the Maria Petti Memorial Scholarship Fund can contact the Franciscan Health Foundation at (219) 661-3401 for more information.
