Even as a student nurse in clinicals, St. Louisan Da’Kari Burrell sees the difference that nurses make through their interaction with patients.
“A lot of the patients understand I am a student nurse and they don’t mind me practicing on them and others – they really like the care,” Burrell said.
With some older patients, the impact can be more poignant. “Nursing is sometimes the only time they get some attention from another person,” he said.
Burrell, a 2010 DeSmet High School graduate, is in his junior year of nursing at Rockhurst University and Research College of Nursing in Kansas City, Mo. He said ICU or trauma nursing is of particular appeal.
“Trauma and ER – you kind of have to be one of those people who are calm under pressure,” Burrell said. “I’m really calm under pressure, especially when it’s emergencies – I’m real level-headed.”
Burrell is one of six students who were awarded nursing scholarships in July through a collaborative effort by Deaconess Foundation, The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis and the St. Louis American Foundation. The foundations have committed more than $100,000 annually in resources and support over the next five years to assist future nurses in their education and training.
“It has helped a lot because the school gave me some scholarships, but there was going to be a big gap, what would have to consist of loans,” Burrell said. “This helped with that to make it a little bit easier.”
Each student, upon meeting qualifications, will receive funds to support their nursing education for up to eight semesters toward a bachelor of science in nursing. The goal is to increase the number of nurses in the workforce in the St. Louis area.
Although he hasn’t made his mind up completely, Burrell is considering spending some time in Los Angeles, where he was born.
“The main reason I wanted to go to LA was because of my grandmother, who I met when I was 16,” he said. “Maybe I could go out there and live out there with her for a while because she is getting older in age.”
Regardless of whether he stays in the area or moves away, Burrell definitely plans to remain in nursing.
“Five years from now I see myself working in a hospital and going back to school to become a nurse practitioner,” Burrell said. “Ten years from now I may become a traveling nurse.”
The Deaconess Foundation Nursing Scholarship will be awarded to 10-15 students annually (avg. award $6,000). Students must be permanent residents of the St. Louis metropolitan area and pursuing nursing (RN, BSN) at an accredited, nonprofit school. Awards are based on financial need, strength of character, and academic potential.
All correspondence will be communicated by email, so it is important to have a valid email address when you start the application.
To apply, students must complete the two applications by November 15 or by April 15: the Deaconess Foundation Nursing Scholarship and The Scholarship Foundation Interest-Free Loan in Scholarship Central at www.sfstl.org. Students selected to receive the Deaconess scholarship may also be given an opportunity to accept or decline an interest-free loan or other grants through SFSTL.
Additional information may be obtained by calling The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis at 314-725-7990 or via email at info@sfstl.org.
For applications, select the link “Deaconess Foundation Nursing Scholarship” at https://stlouisgraduates.academicworks.com/.
