For the past eleven years, Summit Healthcare Regional Medical Center Foundation has provided over 100 scholarships to Northland Pioneer College (NPC) students studying to become registered nurses.
The Foundation recently awarded scholarships to ten first and second-year students enrolled in NPC’s nursing program. These future nurses received $1,000 each to assist with tuition, books, and other expenses related to their educational goals over NPC’s fall semester.
Jesse Reeck, Executive Director of NPC Friends and Family, the non-profit foundation that supports students at NPC, commented on Summit’s dedicated commitment to supporting nursing students. “The Summit Healthcare Foundation is an outstanding partner to NPC and NPC Friends and Family. Every year, they provide these scholarships, sponsor our Pedal the Petrified fundraising event, and host nursing students for clinical rotations at their locations. We are deeply thankful for Summit’s commitment to this community and to growing our own into invaluable healthcare professionals.”
NPC Friends and Family received 21 applications for the Summit Healthcare Scholarship. “It was difficult to select only 10 recipients,” Reeck explained. Members of the scholarship review committee noted the passion and commitment the applicants demonstrated in their essays and academic accomplishments. Reeck shared, “Most of the awardees are parents, juggling educational goals with family responsibilities.” She noted that one scholarship awardee relayed that as she continues to work to provide for her children’s needs, “a scholarship means I can move forward in my dreams without hindering theirs.”
The students shared profound stories of what inspired them to become nurses. Overcoming a traumatic brain injury at the age of 13, witnessing the compassion of nurses caring for a jaundiced newborn son, helping a father through a battle with leukemia, or, for another, a grandfather through Parkinson’s. They relayed their educational and career journeys and goals. Many already work as healthcare technicians, and most plan to continue past their associate’s degree to pursue additional nursing degrees and certifications. Reeck stated, “These students are passionate about the transformative role a nurse can play in the critical, vulnerable moments of life, and are committed to making a career out of caring for others.”
The 2025 recipients of the Summit Healthcare Foundation Nursing Scholarship are Sara Chirco of Pinetop; Walter Johnson and Stefany Perkins of Lakeside; Kelsey Farr of Show Low; Alexis Casillas of Eager; Skyla Araiza, Summer Cash, and Whitnie Farnsworth of Snowflake; Savannah Henderson of Taylor; and Shanae Goodman of Winslow.
NPC Friends and Family extends a heartfelt thank-you to Summit Healthcare for making these scholarships possible and congratulates all awardees. To learn more about NPC Friends and Family and to make a tax-deductible donation, please visit www.npc.edu/npcfriendsfamily or contact jesse.reeck@npc.edu. The application window for NPC Friends and Family general scholarships for Spring 2026 will open on October 1, 2025. Over 30 scholarships are available for multiple educational degree programs. Please visit www.npc.edu/ffscholarships for more information.
