STATEN ISLAND RESIDENT NAMED PEARSON SCHOLAR
(New York, NY)
Deborah Brice of Saint George, Staten Island, has been named a Pearson scholar at Borough of Manhattan Community College. She has lived on Staten Island since 1974. As a Pearson scholar, Brice, who is a health information technology 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:
BMCC Professor Geoffrey Akst, whose books have been published by Pearson Education, congratulates Deborah Brice as accepts her scholarship award from Will Ethridge, president of the Higher Education Division of Pearson Education, while Barbara Tacinelli, chairperson of the BMCC Nursing Department and Everett Flannery, chairperson of the BMCC Allied Health Department look on.
Brice 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. “ I feel elated and blessed and grateful to be named a Pearson Scholar,” she said. “I had financial constraints, and I concerned about whether I would be able to finish my associate’s degree program.”
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.
Brice had worked as a legal secretary in word processing for 17 years, and then became interested in getting into the health field. “I was a dialysis patient for seven years, and throughout that time I learned a lot about the health field,” she said. Health information technology offered a way to meld her work experience with her interest in health care. “I thought I could make a difference if I got into the health field. I felt like it was my calling,” she said.
As a participant in the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program at BMCC, Brice is working on a research project about lipitor, the cholesterol-lowering agent. “It’s about the good, bag, and ugly,” she said.
In her spare time, Brice serves as program coordinator/correspondent for the Prison Fellowships Angel Tree program. “This is a program where Christians purchase gifts for children who have parents who are incarcerated, and we minister to the children year-round” she explained.
Brice expects to graduate in May 2003, and then pursue a degree in health information management.
