Circle of Scholars

 Let me introduce myself. I am Nancy Roecklein and, like you, I am a grateful recipient of an NEF scholarship. As a Nurse Practitioner caring for women with breast cancer, I am now a doctoral student pursuing clinical research in this area and with a goal of becoming a nurse educator. Through the generosity of NEF, I have received financial support to pursue my educational goals, first as a Master’s student and now as a Doctoral student. As a Nurses Educational Funds scholarship recipient you are a member of the Circle of Scholars. Scholarship recipients are unique and accomplished nurse leaders. Until today, there has been no formal network among NEF scholars. I am writing to invite you to meet me at the NEF Web site to share our accomplishments, find our common interests, and explore other opportunities to manifest our visions for nursing while supporting the careers of recent and future NEF scholars.

When I think of NEF, the words that come to mind are vision and generosity. Nurses Educational Funds was established over 100 years ago to honor Isabel Hampton Robb, a visionary leader of modern American nursing. Today, NEF scholarships for graduate nursing study continue to be made possible through generous contributions NEF Board members, other nursing leaders, friends of nursing, schools of nursing, nursing alumni associations and honor societies. Additionally, corporations including pharmaceutical companies and publishers contribute to NEF. To date, more than 1,000 nurses have been awarded scholarships from NEF.

I look forward to making your acquaintance through the NEF Circle of Scholars and in developing the relationships that will enable each of us to give back while propelling our profession forward. Please consider writing your own biography for our Circle of Scholars page as I did. Share what the NEF scholarship has meant to you and your professional development. Inspire the next generation of nurse leaders.

Watch with other suggestions about how as Scholars we can benefit from the NEF Circle of Scholars and support the mission of NEF. Thank you.

Jennifer Withall, the 2017-2018 recipient of the NEF American Journal of Nursing Scholarship attended the Jonas Nurse Leader Conference in Washington D.C. in October, 2017 where she met the editor of the AJN, Maureen Shawn Kennedy.