For DonorsFor Applicants

Women in Healthcare Scholarship

Funded by
$1,000
1 winner$1,000
Open
Application Deadline
Jul 1, 2025
Winners Announced
Aug 1, 2025
Education Level
Any
Eligibility Requirements
Education Level:
High school senior, undergraduate, or graduate student
Citizenship Status:
U.S. citizen or permanent legal resident
Gender:
Female-identifying
Field of Study:
Healthcare

Healthcare plays a part in the lives of individuals and communities on a daily basis. Workers in this field are frontline warriors in the battle against disease, providers of comfort during times of illness, and advocates for healthier living. They are responsible for pushing the boundaries of medical knowledge, delivering compassionate care, and making healthcare accessible to all.

As demand for healthcare professionals grows, diversity and gender equality in this field become increasingly vital. Inclusivity is essential to the growth and progress of healthcare, as women bring unique, valuable strengths and experiences to the field. 

Historically, women have faced barriers to accessing education and achieving leadership roles in healthcare. Additionally, pursuing a degree in the healthcare field, while rewarding, can be financially challenging. 

This scholarship aims to support and empower female students pursuing degrees in healthcare so they can afford to complete their education and shape the future of healthcare.

Any female high school senior, undergraduate, or graduate student who is a U.S. citizen or permanent legal resident pursuing healthcare may apply for this scholarship. 

To apply, tell us why you’ve decided to pursue healthcare and how you hope to make a difference as a woman in the field.

Selection Criteria:
Ambition, Drive, Impact
Published September 3, 2024
Essay Topic

Why have you chosen to pursue a degree in healthcare? How do you hope to make a positive impact as a woman in the healthcare field?

400–600 words

Winning Application

Katarina Salisbury
Davidson CollegeLEXINGTON, KY
My father died by suicide when I was 5 years old. In the years that followed, I was bullied for that loss, told to get over it, and made to feel different. When my grandmother, with whom I was extremely close after my dad's death, died suddenly and traumatically when I was 13, I struggled with extreme anxiety and feelings of isolation. I am now motivated by my own experiences as a child who lost her father at a young age. I had trouble finding the right therapeutic supports, as do many of the kids I work with. I volunteered with a young woman whose life I saw transformed by finding the right combination of medications. I was in awe at the positive change in her, and that experience has inspired me to become an adolescent psychiatrist. I’m very interested in the psychology of grief and how it presents in adolescents and young adults. Through my own and my volunteer experience, I've noticed it's especially hard for girls to advocate for their needs in a mental health setting. I had the unique opportunity to be part of a national team developing a teen-led grief support curriculum. With a team that ranged from a social worker to a med student to three high schoolers, we tested the proposed curriculum. Though we all had a shared bereavement experience, each of us had access to different grief resources and tools that had led us on our own path. As someone who had experienced traumatic and stigmatized loss, I helped the group understand that losses can be perceived very differently and made sure the language and tone of the curriculum reflected that. One example of this was that instead of saying “your loved one,” I encouraged the team to change the wording to “your person who died” in order to acknowledge that stigmatized grievers may have a complicated relationship with the person who died. I also worked to make sure that the curriculum remained accessible to teens with rural backgrounds and fewer educational or socioeconomic resources. The original curriculum assumed that participants would have knowledge and experiences that reflected a privileged background. So, I advocated for language and concept changes that would better serve teens. Because I was included in this space, I was able to bring different perspectives that improve a resource and made it more accessible to an increased number of people. I have come from a place where I had little hope to a place where I can be a source of hope for other kids and teens with death losses. The systems that exist, especially school systems, are not set up well to support bereaved children, especially young women. This fall I was able to testify before our state legislative committee for families and children about my experiences and what help that I needed that didn't yet exist at the state and local level. I want to fight for others to get the help and supports they need, and I have already started using my voice at a state and national level to do that. I know that this is my life's work--improving the experiences of other children and transforming systems.

FAQ

When is the scholarship application deadline?

The application deadline is Jul 1, 2025. Winners will be announced on Aug 1, 2025.