Each year The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation’s Scholarship Program offers many ways for students to pursue a post- secondary education. There are scholarships designated for graduating seniors of certain schools; others are awarded for specific fields of study such as nursing or law. Financial need, not academic achievement, is the basis of others, and some focus on sports and extra activities.
The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation administers more than 500 Funds with over 100 of those Funds designated for statewide scholarships. In the 2014-15 school year, the Foundation funded 433 scholarships for a total of $521,570. Beginning in November of each year, students may apply through the Foundation’s online application process. Most scholarships are for $1,000; this amount can make a difference for students piecing together a financial package to attend college.
One such student is Angie Settle, who with the aid of a TGKVF scholarship was able to begin an academic journey that would continue through undergraduate, master and doctorate degrees. Angie’s hard work and desire to serve her community have propelled her to reach her education goals and find career success.
In Angie’s own words she tells what receiving a scholarship from The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation has meant to her:
“As a young newlywed in the fall of 1990 I was awarded a Capito Fund for Nursing scholarship through The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation to help me pursue my dream of becoming a registered nurse at the University of Charleston. I was awarded the scholarship for three years until I graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing in May, 1993. After graduation, I worked at a local hospital in the trauma ICU before returning to college in the fall of 1994 to pursue a Master’s Degree in Nursing as a Family Nurse practitioner at Marshall University. When I graduated in May of 1997, I became employed at WV Health Right, a free clinic in Charleston, providing care for the uninsured and underinsured of West Virginia.
I have remained with WV Health Right for the majority of my career and over the past 17 ½ years have cared for literally thousands of needy West Virginians. In the fall of 2013, I again returned to school in pursuit of a Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) at the University of Alabama where I was awarded a full scholarship. This past summer I graduated with a 4.0 from the DNP program and fulfilled my life-long dream of earning a terminal degree in the nursing profession. On July 1, 2014, I became the CEO/Executive Director of WV Health Right, Inc., and am now honored to serve as the leader of an organization that is so vital and important to the most at-risk citizens of our community.
In closing, had it not been for the Capito Fund for Nursing Scholarship and The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation, I would not be professionally where I am today. This scholarship gave me the opportunity to pursue my academic endeavors and help lay the groundwork for all of my academic and career successes that came thereafter. I will be eternally grateful that I was granted this scholarship and am so happy that I have been able to give back by caring for the neediest people of West Virginia.
Dr. Angie Settle, DNP, APRN, BC, FNP
