The mother of an autistic child and a certified child life specialist are the latest winners of the W.G. Hartline Scholarship for Columbus Technical College nursing students. Kimberly Miller and Martha Bailey “Mailey” Wright of Columbus each have an additional $500 in funds to help pay for their associate degrees in nursing at Columbus Tech. In order to qualify, the nursing students must hold at least a 3.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) and not be eligible for HOPE or Pell funds. In the cases of Miller and Wright, each student holds a perfect 4.0 GPA.  They are expected to complete their studies in December of this year.

In her application essay, Miller described how entering the nursing field became a mid-life goal. She had been employed as an insurance adjuster and after seeing people injured and the process involved toward recovery, she wanted to be part of the healing.

“In 2014, I decided I wanted a more involved role in caring for others,” Miller wrote. “My nursing career goal is to work with either mentally challenged people or to help young people.”

Her autistic son helps her understand the patience, empathy, and warmth needed to be a successful and caring nurse.

“Raising my son has made me realize that people do not always ‘fit into a box.’ People are all very different from each other and we must be sensitive to the needs of each other.”

Mailey Wright also hopes to work with young people; it’s an area with which she is already familiar in her role as a certified child life specialist at The Children’s Hospital with Columbus Regional. In her application essay, Wright wrote of how her experience plus her future goals would bring together the best of both worlds.

“I honestly never thought I would find a profession that I loved and have a passion for as much as I do for child life, but to feel that way about nursing too blows my mind,” Wright said. “To be able to become a pediatric nurse and utilize my skills learned as a child life specialist is so exciting for me.”