A suburban Chicago nursing school provided a recent graduate with scholarship money and Frances Cruz has capitalized on the golden opportunity before her, according to The Beacon-News.
A spring 2011 graduate of high school in Aurora, Cruz has taken her academic interests to a program at the Chamberlain College of Nursing, which is called the Navigate to Nursing Scholarship Program. Her home campus is the one in Addison.
"The big thing for me was the whole college experience. I felt so welcomed at Chamberlain," Cruz told the publication. "You get to feel like a student, but don’t feel committed to go (to Chamberlain) if you don’t like it."
The program serves as a launching pad for high school seniors with an interest in pursuing nursing jobs and acquiring a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing. Students who pursue this discipline may begin pecking away at the degree while still in high school. The scholarship money students receive can climb as high as $8,500 in aid that can be used for tuition, books and fees.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly 60 percent of registered nursing jobs are located in hospitals. The profession represents the biggest occupation within the healthcare industry.