CHICAGO HEIGHTS–(ENEWSPF)–May 11, 2015. Tuition bills will be a bit easier next year for Prairie State College (PSC) nursing student Meghan Muldoon since she is the recipient of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Career Development Grant for 2015-16. AAUW grants are highly competitive and the organization is one of the largest sources of funding for graduate women. The amount of the grant will just about cover one year’s tuition.
Muldoon learned about the grant opportunity from Deborah Havighorst, the Prairie State College Foundation executive director.
“The Foundation works to provide students in need with approximately 30 percent of their costs for tuition and books. Because I know we can’t give students as much as they need or as much as we would like to give them, we are always on the lookout for outside scholarship opportunities for our students. When I saw the AAUW opportunity, I immediately thought of Meghan,” said Havighorst.
One of the grant requirements is that the recipient must already have a bachelor’s degree. Muldoon has a bachelor’s degree in political science that she earned in 2001. She worked as a paralegal for nine years and enjoyed the work, but did not find the job demands compatible once she had children. In fact, the labor and delivery nurse who assisted with the birth of Muldoon’s second child was the inspiration for the career change.
“After my delivery, I was so impressed with the labor and delivery nurse, and the entire setting, I decided I wanted to be a nurse,” Muldoon said. “I started my prerequisite courses at Prairie State, which was the logical choice since I live in Homewood. I took most of the courses online and at night, you couldn’t beat the schedule,” she continued.
Muldoon is the mother of two young daughters. Before she started pursuing her new career, she made sure her family would be supportive of her going back to school. She finishes her first year in the nursing program this month. She especially likes the diversity of ages and ethnicity in the nursing program. “I am in class with 18 year olds and with grandmothers, it is a great learning environment,” she said.
“I am absolutely confident that I made the right decision to change careers. It was really scary to pursue something completely different, but I am very motivated. I want to enjoy what I do. There are so many opportunities for nurses, you can take your career in a variety of directions,” Muldoon said.
Once she finishes her associate degree in nursing, she plans to work and go to school to pursue her bachelor’s degree, either at Purdue Calumet or Governors State. Her final words of advice, “If you don’t like what you are doing, go back to school.” It certainly has been a good move for her.
For more information on PSC’s associate in applied science degree in nursing, visit prairiestate.edu.For information on scholarship opportunities for PSC students from the PSC Foundation, please contact Ms. Havighorst at (708) 709-7918.
Source: www.prairiestate.edu
