Bedford Stuyvesant Resident Named Pearson Scholar

May 16, 2002

BEDFORD STUYVESANT RESIDENT NAMED PEARSON SCHOLAR

(New York, NY) Felicia Higginbotham of the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn has been named a Pearson scholar at Borough of Manhattan Community College. As a Pearson scholar, Higginbotham, who is a nursing major, receives a scholarship award for $1250 per semester, the cost for full-time, in-state tuition, for up to three semesters. She is also eligible to receive up to $500 for summer study.

from left to right:
Will Ethridge (left), president of the Higher Education Division of Pearson Education, andAntonio Perez (right) president of Borough of Manhattan Community College, gave Felicia Higginbotham (center) her Pearson Scholarship award on May 13.

Higginbotham is one of six Pearson scholars who were recognized at a special presentation on Monday, May 13 at BMCC. She received an award for her spring semester scholarship on Monday. Calling it “a great honor” to receive a Pearson Scholarship, Higginbotham noted that “this is the first time I have ever received anything. It feels so rewarding,” she said. “It gives me motivation to do my very best.”

Pearson Education gave BMCC $200,000 for scholarships for students in the health sciences. Pearson Education created the scholarship fund in memory of six BMCC students who were killed in the World Trade Center disaster and in honor of the medical rescue workers at Ground Zero. Pearson executives and some parents of the BMCC students who died in the World Trade Center attended the scholarship award reception on May 13.

To be eligible for the distinguished award, students must be enrolled in a degree program in nursing, respiratory therapy, health information technology, or paramedics. Borough of Manhattan Community College offers she only respiratory therapy and paramedic program in New York City. A BMCC scholarship committee selected students for the awards based on their academic achievement and an essay describing why they want to pursue a career in the health sciences.

Higginbotham chose to study nursing after observing her mother, who has been a certified nurses aide for almost 20 years. “I watched my mother take care of people in their homes,” she said. While her mother gave patients a lot of care, Higginbotham noted that her mother received something in the process as well. “She is a more enriched person” as a result. “It just seemed natural to go into nursing,” she said.

Higginbotham expects to graduate from BMCC in June 2003.

 

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