DEARBORN, Mich., Sept. 7, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- The National American Arab Nurses Association (NAANA) announces its first scholarships. Awarded in five categories, the winners are:
-- Freshman Scholarship Winner: Kristin Dooyema. From
California, Kristin is pursuing her Bachelor of Science in
Nursing at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing.
She is of Dutch decent.
-- Registered Nurse Scholarship Winner: Anna Fedkina. From
Missouri, Anna is pursuing her Bachelor of Science in
Nursing at Central Missouri State University. She is of
Russian decent.
-- Minority Student Scholarship Winner: Oluyemi Abiodun.
From Maryland, Oluyemi is pursuing her Bachelor of
Science in Nursing at the Johns Hopkins University School
of Nursing. She is of African-American decent.
-- Masters in Nursing Scholarship Winner: Sharifa Al-qaaydeh.
From Utah, Sharifa is pursuing her Master of Science in
Nursing at The University of Utah. She is of Middle-Eastern
decent.
-- Nursing as a Second Degree Scholarship Winner: Kesha Eason.
From Illinois, Kesha is pursing her Master of Science in
Nursing at University of Illinois at Chicago. She is of
African-American decent.
The awards of $1,000 each will be applied to tuition and books for the 2006-2007 academic year. The awardees were selected from among 30 applicants whose application was judged by a panel representing members of the board of NAANA. Members of the selection committee included: Vicki Ashker, Rose Khalifa, Kim Knight, Suha Kridli, Sandy Szekely and Audrey Zavodsky.
Winners were notified by telephone and their scholarships were mailed to their respective schools in late August.
NAANA President Rose Khalifa, RN, said, "We were truly excited that the current pool of nursing students is so talented and focused on success in our profession. It was gratifying to see so many applicants representing other ethnic and racial groups. We want to thank Allegiance Home Health Care, Inc. for helping to fund this year's scholarships."
NAANA, which changed its charter and its name to become a national organization, is primarily devoted to the professional development of Arab American nurses but has a multi-ethnic dimension to its mission.
NAANA's first national convention will be held at Detroit's Marriott Renaissance Hotel from Thursday, April 10, through Saturday, April 12, 2008.
"Our inaugural conference in May 2005 drew attendees from across the state of Michigan as well as other states, so the board decided to host a national conference offering a wide spectrum of programs on transcultural nursing, recruitment and retention of nurses, nursing shortages, education of nurses, etc.," said Khalifa.
For more information about the scholarship program, the April 2008 convention or NAANA, please visit www.n-aana.org or call 313-982-4070.
The National American Arab Nurses Association logo is available at http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=1446