Pictured left to right:  Jerry Chaney, Mendocino College Foundation Director; Regina Waddle, Scholarship Recipient; Rachel Farkas, Scholarship Recipient; Fran Laughton, Program Director; Kari Paoli, Scholarship Recipient; Shanti Adhikari, Nursing Instructor

Ukiah…”Three second year nursing students at Mendocino College have each received a $750 scholarship according to Fran Laughton, Program Director.”

Faculty in the nursing program stated that these students are outstanding and show great promise in their chosen field.  The recipients are Regina Waddle, Rachel Farkas, and Kari Paoli.

Rachel Farkas has maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average throughout her educational program.  She is excited about starting her preceptorship hours at Adventist Health- Ukiah Valley in the Intensive Care Unit.   When asked about her plans for after graduation, she laughingly said “I want to start a family and my future goals include obtaining a bachelor of science degree in nursing and to pursue a family nurse practitioner degree.”

Kari Paoli works two jobs, is raising a twelve-year old daughter, and commutes from Fort Bragg to Ukiah every day towards earning her degree in nursing.   She is inspiring, even her classmates didn’t know about the demands of her life.  She worked for twelve years as a certified nursing assistant and currently works for the Coast Hospital as a teletech in the cardiac unit.  She chose nursing because her mom is a nurse and as her role model, she couldn’t imagine doing anything else.  Like Farkas, her preceptorship training will be in the Intensive Care Unit at Adventist Health, Ukiah Valley.

Regina Waddle left the dental field to pursue her degree in nursing because she wants to help people.  She loves working in the medical field because it’s rewarding and versatile.  She had so much praise for her instructors and her classmates who she calls part of her family.  Regina will begin her preceptorship in the pre-op/surgery unit at Adventist Health- Ukiah Valley.

Three Superstars, that will graduate this spring from the Mendocino College Nursing Program and plan to stay and work in Mendocino County.

Funding for these scholarships was provided by numerous donors who support the Friends of the Mendocino College Nursing Program an affiliate organization of the Mendocino College Foundation.

For more information about the Mendocino College Foundation or to donate towards any of their programs, contact Katie Fairbairn, Executive Director at kfairbairn@mendocino.edu or call 468-3164.