Three hard-working Columbus Technical College nursing students are the latest recipients of scholarships valued at $500 each. The Klayder Scholarship will go a long way in helping pay for future program-related needs. Winners of the 2015 Klayder Scholarship are: Richard Formby, Amanda Rollins, and Lori Yaussi. Each student has completed his or her coursework for the Associate Degree Nursing program at Columbus Technical College.

The Klayder award was named in honor of Paul A. Klayder, Jr. and his wife, Velma. Winners must have maintained at least a 3.0 GPA and submitted an essay featuring their passion for nursing and their future goals to the scholarship selection committee at Columbus Technical College.

In her letter, Army wife and veteran Lori Yaussi (Fort Benning) shared the heartbreaking story of losing a child and how she wants to apply what she experienced during that trying time to help ease the suffering of other families.

“During her brief life, we were in and out of hospitals where I learned how much nurses can make a difference in the world of their patients,” she wrote. “We had some amazing nurses who made our family struggles a little less difficult. Our nurses educated and supported us. They were there when we needed a shoulder to cry on and served as a voice to our physician.”

Working wife and mother of two, Amanda Rollins of Columbus has experience and education in the computer science field but what made her pursue the healthcare path was getting tough medical news son a few years ago regarding her son.

“When my oldest child was only seven years old, he was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes,” Rollins wrote. “That was the point in my life that I realized what angels healthcare professionals truly are. From the day he was diagnosed, it became my mission to help patients the way the doctors and nurses that saved his life did.”

Rollins immediately enrolled in and eventually earned a diploma in Columbus Technical College’s pharmacy technology program and then went into the nursing program. Rollins is already employed by an area hospital and hopes to change positions within that same hospital as a member of the nursing staff.

Richard Formby of Phenix City found out first-hand about the quality education one receives at Columbus Technical College. That’s because his wife is a graduate of the College’s dental hygiene program. Originally, Formby aspired to become a Physician’s Assistant but once he came entrenched in the nursing program and the hands-on experience he gained, he was hooked.

“I realized I was exactly where I was meant to be, caring for people,” he wrote. “I have always sought to lead my life by the truism that ‘there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.’ Wanting to apply this tenet, I feel that nursing has allowed me to give of myself to others. There is no greater satisfaction than making a difference in another person’s life.”