Scholarships

My husband is a disabled combat veteran, which everyone seems to think should provide me with some benefits of my own. It doesn't. A whole mess of problems that are a pain in the rear to deal with, and incredibly daunting bureaucratic processes designed to make getting help so difficult it's not even worth the trouble. Trying to go back to school was difficult. My husband's disability income is straightened out now, but for a while the only income my family had was my waitress' salary. I finally got back to school a year and a half ago. I've been slowly chipping away at my prerequesites for the nursing program. I've made getting into a nursing program one of my top pritorites. Maaaybe I've neglected some housework, and perhaps I haven't made a decent meal for my family in all this time, but I've made straight As!

As soon as I found out I was in the program I started scouring the internet for scholarship opportunities. Because, like I said, there are no education benefits for wives of disabled veterans (unless they are totally and permanantly disabled). I found scholarships that I'm eligible for because my husband was a Ranger, because he is a Bronze Star recipient, because my grandfather was at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked, because he is a Distinguished Flying Cross recipient, etc. There are a few things out there if you really start ferreting around. The big deal one, though, is that there is a Nurse Corps (like the Peace Corps), which offers all manner of scholarship, grant or loan repayment opportunities in exchange for working in an underserved community for a certain period of time. All the time that I spent searching "nurse scholarships" this never came up for me. Maybe they keep it on the down low so they don't actually have to give away too much money?

Before applying for the program I had a few questions. I've known people who joined the Peace Corps, requesting they be sent someplace in Asia and expecting an assignment like Thailand, only to be sent to outer Mongolia for a year. I wanted to make sure I had a little bit of control over where I was employed. I just got off the phone with a very helpful person with the Nurse Corps (www.hrsa.gov) who assured me that I am able to choose where I will work as long as it meets the requirement of being in a Health Professional Shortage Area. I just need to make sure that the licensure I receive in Georgia will be transferrable across state lines (specifically in Alaska). I'm getting so excited about my future!