The Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady at St. Francis Medical Center recently awarded scholarships for the spring semester to five nursing students at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

Left to Right: Chelsea Christy of West Monroe; Jennifer Graham of Mangham; Scott Wester, CEO at St. Francis; Sister Anne Marie Twohig of St. Francis; Cynthia Lampkins of Monroe; Lisa Cheek of West Monroe; Terri Ewing of Chatham

Photo by Richard Lupo, ULM Photo Services

ULM seniors Chelsea Christy of West Monroe, Jennifer Graham of Mangham, Terri Ewing of Chatham and Lisa Cheek of West Monroe, who is also an employee of St. Francis Medical Center, each received a $750 scholarship to use for educational expenses. Cynthia Adiele-Lampkins of Nigeria, who is living in Monroe and working at St. Francis North Hospital, received a $1,000 scholarship.

The scholarships are funded with money raised by friends of the sisters in the Monroe community in the mid-l990s. The money was originally raised to erect a sculpture honoring the sisters who have served at St. Francis since the opening of the hospital in l913. The funds raised exceeded the amount needed for the sculpture, said Sister Anne Marie Twohig

The sisters decided to invest the balance and use the interest to provide scholarships for deserving ULM nursing students. The students receiving the scholarships have at least a 2.5 to a 3.0 grade point average and live in the St. Francis service area. The sisters choose the recipients they believe are most deserving from a list of applicants submitted by the ULM School of Nursing.