Posted: 10/8/2008
Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing student Rachel Brewer, Traditional ’10, is the recipient of an Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. The scholarship, which awards $30,000 per year, is given to outstanding community college students who are accepted to prestigious universities for degree completion.
“It opened up the world for me and essentially made Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing a reality,” Brewer said.
A Canadian by birth, Brewer attended San Diego City College, where she achieved a 4.0 GPA. As a teenager, she spent two summers volunteering in Pakistan and Nepal, which ultimately led her to travel around the world after graduating high school. For four years, Brewer backpacked her way around South and Southeast Asia, Latin America, and North America. This world education, as she refers to it, inspired her to be an activist and an aspiring nurse. After completing her baccalaureate degree, Brewer plans to pursue a MPH/MNP at Hopkins.
“The initial reason why I chose the path to nursing came directly from the experience with the nurse/midwives who attended the births of my sons,” she said. “Over time, I realized that I didn’t necessarily have to choose one particular focus in nursing just yet because the real core of what drew me to the field was the interaction and connection with others to provide care on a professional yet very personal level.”
Each year, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation selects the best community college students in the nation to receive the Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. This year, 46 applicants were chosen from a pool of more than 700. This scholarship enables high-achieving students with low incomes to pursue their educational goals at the top colleges and universities across the country.