In 2013, the first Riverside Doctors’ Hospital–Williamsburg Community Foundation (WCF) scholarships were given to three worthy high school seniors planning careers in the health services field. As of May 2022, a total of 30 Riverside scholarships have been bestowed, adding up to $45,000, reports Nancy Cote Sullivan, President and Chief Executive Officer, Williamsburg Community Foundation.
This year’s recipients are Shalea Jones from Lafayette High School, who will be attending Virginia Commonwealth University and plans to become a neonatal intensive care unit nurse; Grace Neff from Warhill High School, who plans to major in biology at Christopher Newport University and then enter the Army ROTC program to become a physician’s assistant, physical therapist, or registered nurse; and Yoncel Zacarias from Jamestown High School, who plans to go to Thomas Nelson Community College and would like to become an anesthesiologist.
The foundation is grateful for its ongoing, 10-year partnership with Riverside Doctors’ Hospital, Nancy says. “Everyone at Riverside is great to work with.”
In 1999, to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the City of Williamsburg, a series of fundraising events were held; $60,000 of the funds raised were used to start the Williamsburg Community Foundation, Nancy explains. The roots of the scholarship program can be traced back to 1974, when it was originally called the Lafayette Education Fund and served the only area high school at the time.
The Lafayette Education Fund was completely volunteer run until it became part of the WCF, in 2009, and renamed the Williamsburg–James City County Scholarship Fund. Today, through this program, more than 80 scholarships ranging from $1,500 to $5,000 are awarded annually to students graduating from Lafayette, Jamestown, and Warhill High Schools. The scholarships are awarded in consideration of these factors: curriculum difficulty, class rank, extracurricular activities, essay, and financial need.
“When the committee reads the applications, there are no names on the applications, and they are not separated in terms of specific scholarships,” Nancy explains. “We have one application, and the students fill out all their information, including their GPA and where they want to go to school. We give them five different prompts to use in writing an essay, such as ‘what is your favorite place in Williamsburg and why?’ or ‘who was a mentor to you and influenced your life?’
“We sort the applicants into particular scholarship areas based on the scholarship criteria,” Nancy continues. “Our process allows us to be able to offer quite a variety of scholarships—six of which are in the health care area. Each application is read and scored by three out of our six readers. We take their scores and sort them by how well the students meet our criteria. Students indicate what type of degree they are going for, such as an Associate’s Degree or a nursing degree, and their intended major. They tell us their goals and describe their financial need.
“In the state of Virginia, if a student successfully completes two years in a community college, they will have guaranteed admission to one of our state universities. That way they can live at home and not have to spend money on living expenses until junior year,” she points out.
One aspect of the healthcare scholarships Nancy finds most beneficial is that they are very broad. “It has been quite a mix over the years. We have had applicants who aimed to become nurses, EMTs, doctors, even veterinarians,” she points out. “We are able to open the applicant pool to a very wide range of students.”
This year there were more than 130 applicants overall for the Williamsburg–James City County scholarships and 81 recipients. A wide variety of businesses, nonprofit organizations, and individual donors support the scholarship programs. In addition to Riverside, they include the Kiwanis Club of the Colonial Capital, The Friends of Green Spring, and League of Women Voters.
“One aspect of my job I enjoy the most is working with our donors such as Riverside,” Nancy notes. “They have wonderful ideas, and I love helping them achieve their philanthropic goals.”
She also loves being able to support local high school students in furthering their educations and accomplishing their career ambitions. “They are great young people and have worked hard to get where they are,” Nancy points out. “And we especially like to see our scholarship recipients come back to live and work here and be part of our community. “I love knowing we’re helping Riverside to broaden the pool of outstanding healthcare professionals who might work there after they complete their education.”