SMH Volunteers award scholarships to 10 local students

For more than 30 years, Slidell Memorial Hospital Volunteers have worked year-round, holding bake sales, book sales and jewelry sales to fund an annual scholarship program helping outstanding local students enrolled in a medical program at an accredited university or college.

This year, their hard work has doubled the amount of funds they normally award – a grand total of $10,000. For the 2020-2021 school year, the volunteers awarded ten $1,000 scholarships. The recipients are:

• Kelsey Lacourrege: who is enrolled at the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans and is seeking her Doctorate of Medicine degree.

• Jasmine Ibanez: who is working toward her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing at Delgado Charity School of Nursing in New Orleans.

• Jennifer Daniels: who is enrolled at Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University in Baton Rouge and working toward a degree in Nursing; she has previously served as a volunteer at SMH for two years.

• Alise Vidal: who is enrolled at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond and working toward a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing.

• Lauren Schiro: who is working toward a degree in Brain and Behavioral Sciences at Purdue University in Indiana.

• Taylor Matranger: who is enrolled at the University of Louisiana at Monroe and is seeking a Doctor of Pharmacy degree.

• Jack Ploen: who is working toward a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing at the LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing.

• Sarah Jones: who is enrolled at Baylor University in Texas and working toward a degree in Biostatistics.

• Mark Legendre: who is working to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana; he was previously a volunteer at SMH for two years.

• Chloe Bryars: who is working toward her degree in Biological Sciences at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge; she has previously served as a volunteer at SMH for three years.

The Scholarship Committee members are Bonnie Rivet, James Comeaux, Donna Richard, Nicole Sherrer and Frank Cusimano.

Slidell Memorial Hospital Volunteers range in age from 16 to over 80 years old. They give thousands of hours to the community, serving countless patients, visitors and medical personnel in numerous ways throughout the year. Contact the volunteer coordinator at (985) 280-8531 or visit slidellmemorial.org/volunteer for additional information on volunteering at SMH.