Earlier this month, we hosted a dinner to honor the 39 remarkable students that make up our ninth class of Austin Community College (ACC) Endowed Scholars, who are part of a scholarship program we started in partnership with the ACC Foundation in 2010. Over the years, the scholarship has helped more than 400 ACC students work toward careers in health-related fields, and many of them have gone on to work for health care providers throughout our community.
Unlike our St. David’s Neal Kocurek Scholarship which is aimed at high school seniors, the recipients of this scholarship come from many different backgrounds and paths and are united in pursuit of furthering their education for themselves and their families. Many of our scholarship recipients are simultaneously working full-time jobs and taking care of loved ones, all while taking a full load of classes to achieve their dream.
Scholar Spotlight: Mary “Brooke” Barber
“My name is Mary ‘Brooke’ Barber and I’ve decided to make a mid-life career change; however, it was something that I really did not see coming. In April of 2017, I was laid off from my customer operations job in the high-tech industry due to my department’s functions being outsourced to Costa Rica. I took it as good news to find a career that was more personally rewarding and fulfilling. I wanted to do something that was of more service to individuals and could really make a difference at the end of a day and decided to become a Physical Therapist Assistant. Seeing my parents aging has helped me decide that I would like to work with the senior community and specifically in aquatic therapies. My aspiration is to one day work in a clinical setting that uses aquatic therapies and modalities to aid the body in recovery from injury, illness, and surgery. I thank you again for the scholarship to help ease some of my financial burden in moving towards this goal.”
This story was published as part of the October issue of St. David’s Foundation’s 411 newsletter. Click below to read the other stories in this issue.
Welcome to the Neighborhood: Our Dental Team’s Summer at Community First Village
A New Beginning: Terrace at Oak Springs
Brains Aren’t Born, They’re Built – Announcing our Early Childhood Home Visiting Grants
Mental Health First Aid: Providing Vital Training to Address Mental Health During COVID-19
Alumni Spotlight: 2011 Neal Kocurek Scholar Leads Front Line Response for COVID-19
St. David’s Foundation Deploys First Round of COVID-19 Recovery Funds to Central Texas Nonprofits
COVID-19: The Health and Financial Crisis Threatening Nonprofits
Announcing our Intergenerational Grants: Connecting Generations with Creativity and Innovation
Gratitude and Impact: Our Winter Grant Announcement
Partnering to “Get-out-the-Count” for the 2020 Census
Parks with Purpose & Equity: 19 Groups Receive Grants to Level the Playing Field
Welcome to the Neighborhood – Our Dental Team’s Summer at Community First! Village
A New Beginning: Terrace at Oak Springs
Always Looking Forward: Our Austin Community College Endowed Scholars
Brains Aren’t Born, They’re Built – Announcing our Early Childhood Home Visiting Grants
St. David’s Foundation Announces New Leader
Catching Up with Parks Progress
Celebrating our Summer Grant Cycle
Supporting Seniors to Age with Dignity
Building Trust, One Village at a Time
Keeping Our Austin Neighbors Cool
The Healthcare Leaders of Tomorrow: Our Neal Kocurek Scholars
Our Summer Grants: Strengthening Community Health in Partnership with our Central Texas Neighbors
The Path to Healthier Texas Mothers and Babies
We Came, We Saw, We Were Inspired: SDF at SXSW 2019
Embracing Continuous Improvement in the New Year
Deepening our Impact in Central Texas with our December Grants
Earl Maxwell Announces His 2019 Retirement – VIDEO
Announcing the Recipients of our “Health Starts at Home” Grants
Getting to Impact Together through Good Measure
Seeing the Potential: Keep Austin Beautiful & LBJ High School
Preventing Childhood Adversity and Building Community Resilience: Investing in an Emerging Field
Bringing A/C to our Neighbors in Need this Summer
The Next Generation of Health Professionals: Our 2018 Neal Kocurek Scholars
Senior Program Officer Kim McPherson on “Childhood Trauma’s Footprint on Health” Panel at SXSW
Hurricane Harvey Relief in Central Texas
St. David’s Foundation Announces Our Active Parks Project
Foundation Communities’ Cardinal Point Location Opens in Northwest Austin
Focus on The Fourth: Our First Women’s Health Grantees
From One Van to Nine: The growth of St. David’s Dental Program
St. David’s Foundation Announces Grants of over $20 million
St. David’s Foundation Announces Summer Grants Totaling Over $25 Million
Judge Guy Herman Center for Mental Health Crisis Care Breaks Ground
St. David’s Foundation Announces Grants Totaling Nearly $27 Million
