Lily, Aspiring Nurse

As a Peace Corps volunteer, Lily Mendelson spent two years in the Dominican Republic working as a Youth Development Promoter. She trained youth groups in areas concerning sexual health and taught teens about the prevention of adolescent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. She supervised 81 youth groups and 32 regional coordinators during her time in Latin America.

Today, Lily is in the accelerated program at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. She writes that nursing combines everything she wants from a career, “direct service work, health promotion and education, a patient-centered approach, reliance on evidence based knowledge, and a dynamic working environment.” Lily hopes to help families maintain healthy lifestyles and she envisions continuing her education to become a Nurse Practitioner.

Upon news of receiving The Peggy Ellen Pumpian Memorial Fund Interest-Free Loan at Central Scholarship, Lily was ecstatic. She sent a particularly touching thank you letter in which she writes, “Because of this interest-free loan, I am able to afford the best nursing program available to me. While I will still graduate from Hopkins with some debt, I am grateful to all those who have helped me reduce that debt as much as possible. This will allow me to search for and secure a nursing job that includes serving young families and children in need, without limiting my options due to concerns about paying off my debt. Thank you for your investment in my future. I only hope that my service as a nurse will pay it forward to society.”