Twenty-one Saddleback Memorial employees were awarded a total of $41,320 toward tuition to further their higher education at Saddleback Memorial Foundation’s 39th annual Scholarship Awards on July 13, 2016.
“These goal-oriented employees are striving for something better in their future with Saddleback Memorial,” said Virginia Pillsbury, member of the Saddleback Memorial Foundation Board of Directors and Chair of the Scholarship Committee. “It’s wonderful to meet them and find out why they are continuing their education.”
Guest speaker Joshua Perez, a two-time scholarship recipient, spoke about his journey from foodservice worker to financial analyst within MemorialCare. He expressed his gratitude to the Scholarship Committee, commenting that the scholarship funds enabled him to complete his degree and seek higher positions within MemorialCare Health System. He also thanked his managers and directors who have supported and mentored him. Someday he hopes to be a hospital executive.
“To hear Joshua’s story and see his ambition and growth, that’s what this is all about,” added Pillsbury.
The scholarship program was established in 1977 with the generosity of local philanthropists. Since then, Saddleback Memorial Foundation has distributed more than $900,000 in scholarships.
To apply for a scholarship, the employees must be full- or part-time Saddleback Memorial employees with a minimum of one full year of employment. They must be taking courses for credit at an eligible, accredited educational institution, and must have a GPA of 2.5 or higher. All scholarship winners completed a rigorous application that also required a supervisor’s recommendation letter.
All applications were submitted in April. The application data was compiled and then reviewed by the Foundation’s Scholarship Committee to determine awardees and amounts. The scholarship funds are paid as tuition from the Foundation directly to the educational institution.
The scholarship awards are named after the donors who have generously gifted funds for this program. Scholarship award recipients and their cities of residence are listed below:
DOROTHY COLVER AWARD
Emily Azuaje (Lake Forest)
Post-Anesthesia Care Unit
DAMSKER AWARD
Jennifer Coomer (Laguna Niguel)
Telemetry
Kathryn Schmidt (Aliso Viejo)
Surgical Orthopedics
Dominique Shamas (Mission Viejo)
Intensive Care Unit
NURSES 4 NURSES AWARD
Hyejin Jeong (Irvine)
Intensive Care Unit
Janelle Lamas (Aliso Viejo)
Emergency Services
VIRGINIA PILLSBURY AWARD
Luke Kim (Costa Mesa)
Intensive Care Unit
RABINOV AWARD
Tiffany Gunnemann (Santa Ana)
Food Service
Nancy Maldonado (Aliso Viejo)
Breast Center
JOHNNIE VANCE AWARD
Tiffany Laffen (Huntington Beach)
Cardiovascular Observation Unit
SADDLEBACK KIWANIS AWARD
Shellie Graves (San Clemente)
Post-Anesthesia Care Unit
Jocelyn Lambeth (Aliso Viejo)
Labor, Delivery, Recovery & Postpartum
SCHOLARSHIP ENDOWMENT AWARD
Diana Chavez (San Juan Capistrano)
Admitting
Stephanie Kidwell (Costa Mesa)
Health Information Management
Jenny Lawless (Mission Viejo)
Surgical Orthopedics
Ann Mason (Aliso Viejo)
Health Information Management
Jerrilynn Stanwood (Aliso Viejo)
Admitting
Aliona Telechi (Aliso Viejo)
Intensive Care Unit
Fatemeh Zahed (Aliso Viejo)
Surgical Orthopedics
JERRY WERNER AWARD
Nicole Curtis (Lake Forest)
Surgical Orthopedics
Jeffrey Riedel (Portola Hills)
Emergency Services