Rick Patrick:
Greene Publishing, Inc.
The Registered Nursing (RN) class of 2019 at North Florida Community College (NFCC) found a unique way to honor one of their beloved instructors. When nursing instructor Julie Walden announced her retirement, the students in the nursing program wanted to find a way to honor their instructor in a way that would continue the legacy of leadership and compassion Walden exemplified to her students.
Throughout the year, the students in the nursing program held fundraisers in order to raise funds for their end-of-term pinning ceremony. During that pinning ceremony on Tuesday, May 7, the students presented a certificate to Walden commemorating a scholarship fund that has been established in Walden's honor. According to class president, Emily Akers, it is the goal to fund a full scholarship for a deserving nursing student who exemplifies the traits Walden helped to instill in her students. The criteria for the Walden Scholarship includes: work ethic, strong moral character, leadership and, most importantly, compassion for others.
"Julie Walden inspired and motivated our class in a way that will forever be engrained in our hearts and our nursing careers," said Akers. "As a class we collectively agreed that if she did that to us, we can only imagine just how many nursing alumni's lives she impacted. While she no longer works for NFCC, we feel this scholarship can help give a little bit of her compassion to the future RN classes."
Anyone, especially former students of Walden's, wishing to contribute to the scholarship fund may do so at https://www.nfcc.edu/foundation-giving/giving-opportunities/index.html.