Applications open for Nursing Scholars Program at GCSU

MILLEDGEVILLE — The Georgia College & State University Lettie Pate Whitehead Nursing Scholars Program has 12 spots in its fall 2024 cohort. Applications are open until May 1.

The cohort-based nursing scholarship provides four-year funding for the cost of tuition and fees, housing, meals, textbooks, and nursing program fees, including one fully funded study-abroad related to health care.

“The Lettie Pate Whitehead Scholarship is a beacon of opportunity, empowering women in Central Georgia to obtain a nursing education without financial constraints,” Dr. Josie Doss, director of the School of Nursing, said. “This scholarship embodies a commitment to addressing the nursing shortage in Georgia, fostering academic success and nurturing the next generation of compassionate and skilled nursing professionals.”

Applications can be made online. Applicants must be a resident of Georgia and specifically from one of these counties: Baldwin, Bibb, Hancock, Houston, Jasper, Jones, Monroe, Putnam, Twiggs, Washington and Wilkinson.

The program is funded by the Lettie Page Whitehead Foundation, a scholarship program that provides funding for “deserving female students with financial need.”

As part of requirements established by the Whitehead Foundation, students must self-identify as Christian, demonstrate financial need, be accepted and enrolled at Georgia College and complete the FAFSA.

If the FAFSA fails to take special circumstances into account, an applicant may submit an essay demonstrating their financial need.

Once a part of the cohort, students will take part in a “living-learning community” on West Campus. Students are paired with upperclassmen in the program for unique mentorship opportunities. In addition, they take part in leadership retreats each semester.

“If a foundation like Lettie Pate Whitehead is interested in growing nurses and helping them financially,” said program coordinator and Georgia College Associate Professor of Nursing Dr. Jennifer Goldsberry, “I think it’s our responsibility to make sure that students know it’s about giving back and paying it forward.

“That’s the goal — to make an excellent public liberal arts education accessible to talented students from a wide range of social and economic backgrounds.”

Special Photo: GCSUSpecial Photo: GCSU