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WHEELING -- The auxiliary of Wheeling Hospital has continued its annual tradition of awarding scholarships to teen volunteers continued. Eight high school seniors, representing six schools, received the honor.
Peggy Swearingen, auxiliary scholarship chair, presented the students with scholarships each worth $1,000 a year for four years. Currently, 22 former junior volunteers are receiving scholarships. With the addition of the latest recipients, the auxiliary will be pledging $30,000 in the 2018-19 academic year.
The high schools represented by the scholarship winners were Linsly School and Wheeling Central Catholic, Wheeling Park, Martins Ferry, St. John Central and St. Clairsville high schools. Together, these students have given a combined total of 1,294 service hours at Wheeling Hospital.
Receiving the 2018 scholarships were Lydia Andlinger, daughter of Michael and Beth Andlinger; Madalyn Becker, daughter of Tammie Becker and Rob Becker; Nathan Blair, son of Lawrence and Alecia Blair; Audrey Blust, daughter of Raymond and Julie Blust; Lucy Harman, daughter of Anne Harman; Marcus Clark, son of Ryan and Heidi Clark; Jenna Sawinski, daughter of James and Pam Sawinski; and Maya Tadipatri, daughter of Raj and Pallu Tadipatri.
To be eligible for this scholarship, a junior volunteer must be a current high school senior with a minimum of 150 hours of volunteer service at Wheeling Hospital. They must be entering into a health-related college curriculum and carry a 2.5 high school grade-point average.
Applicants must complete a scholarship application including an essay on how their volunteer experience influenced their career choice.
Andlinger also received a $500 scholarship from the auxiliary of West Virginia Hospital Association and the West Virginia Hospital Association. A total of 27 hospitals throughout the state can submit students for these scholarships. This year, 32 scholarship applications were received and Andlinger won one of the three presented.
Under the leadership of auxiliary president Vicky Musicaro, supported by the dedication and commitment of the membership, funds are raised from many different events to finance these scholarships.
"It is the aim of the Department of Volunteer Services to facilitate the development of the junior volunteer's role in the hospital and afford these teens the opportunity to safely perform meaningful service as a viable part of our health care team," said Debbie Romaine, director of volunteer-guest services. "Our goal is to help our junior volunteers build self esteem, promote a sense of social responsibility and build relationships outside of school with people of various ages and backgrounds."