Scholarship Program
Announcing the 2022 Jean Griswold Foundation Scholars
Watch their reaction when they first got the news!
In our first scholarship year, nearly 300 applicants from around the country applied. Learn more about the winners below.
Alise Perkins
Alise is a single mom who put her career and education plans on hold for her baby son. Her mostly elderly patients adore her and request her often. She’s just a few courses away from a grad school program in Occupational Therapy. Alise plans to use the scholarship to resume her journey to becoming a therapist, so she can continue incorporating occupational therapy techniques in her caregiving.
“This scholarship will really help me in taking the steps needed to further my education and career.”
Analisa Martinez
Analisa is a CNA who works with Griswold Home Care. She’s been a caregiver for five years, which she says has prepared her with the skills for any career in healthcare. She is interested in polysomnography, the study of sleep and diagnosis of sleep disorders. She says she will use her scholarship to finish her A.S. health science degree, and pursue an additional A.S. in polysomnography.
“I love what I do but I’m ready to start a new chapter where I’m going to take a different path, scared of not knowing where it’ll take me but excited to eventually arrive where I’m supposed to be.”
Jessica Perez
Jessica has been serving as a home-care aid for about 14 years, since she was a teen herself. As the oldest sister, she set her own needs aside to focus on her younger siblings. She plans to put herself first for the first time in a long time and get her CNA. She says she sees the scholarship as “an opportunity to start something beautiful” in her life.” She hopes to work in a hospital someday, and continuing to help others as she has always done.
“I look at this as an opportunity to start something beautiful in my life and get me to where I need to be in my career.”
Joanna George
Although she had not initially intended to pursue a career in caregiving, after becoming the primary caregiver for her grandmother at the age of 15, Joanna developed a passion for geriatric medicine and discovered the experience had really changed her personal and professional direction in life. She has volunteered with a local hospice and even plans to put her scholarship towards interdisciplinary training as a hospice chaplain, in addition to her other medical coursework.
“I used to think of caregiving as a liability, something that consumes my time, a choice I had to defend. Now I view it as an asset that equips me to provide better care to my future patients.”
LaKecia Robinson
LaKecia began her caregiving journey by taking care of both her parents until they passed away. She is currently a caregiver with Griswold Home Care. LaKecia is a mother and grandmother, She plans to put her scholarship towards a CNA, continuing to work towards an RN so she can provide the most comprehensive care for her patients. Kim Ragsdale, who nominated LaKecia for the scholarship, said “she is extremely honest and goes out of her way to do the unexpected.”
“I was a caregiver for both my parents before they passed away. I’m always asked if I’m a CNA when meeting clients and their families for the firs time. I want to change my response from “no” to a “YES!”
Stephanie Caudle
Stephanie has worked in the healthcare field since 2013. She is a CNA 1 and CNA 2, a med tech, and she has finished all of her pre-requisite classes in nursing school. She plans to use the scholarship towards her LPN and RN. She is also studying social technology and social work. She is the mother of two boys and a Goldendoodle. She spends her spare time - what little she has - in the most unusual place: the racetrack! She has been racing dirt tracks since the age of 12.
“I plan to use this scholarship to continue into the nursing field and human services by further educating myself to help many others.”
Thank you all who applied for the National Caregiver Scholarship Program. Stay tuned for information regarding the 2023 Scholarship Program, which promises to be even more impactful!
