Meet Our 2023 Alumni Scholarship Recipients

My major at Wilkes is business management with a minor in legal studies. I expect to graduate in May 2026. I play on the women’s soccer team and I’ll be going into my third season this upcoming semester.

What is your favorite thing about Wilkes?

My favorite thing about Wilkes is the campus. It creates a great atmosphere for school, especially in the early fall and late spring when it’s warm out. There are lots of places to do schoolwork outside. It’s a lot easier for me to get my work done when I actually want to be in the place that I’m doing it, and Wilkes makes that easy.

What has been your most rewarding opportunity at Wilkes?

My most rewarding opportunity so far at Wilkes has been playing for the soccer team. It has given me a great group of friends and a strong support system. It has also helped me a ton with time management, which is something I was not initially good at. Through learning how to balance school, soccer and friends I have gotten a lot better at this.

What are your plans for the future?

After I graduate, I plan to attend law school. I’m not sure exactly where I want to go for it yet, but I do know I want to focus on business law. I’m thinking possibly somewhere out by Washington, D.C. because I have family out there. I also want to go to law school farther away from home because I currently live in Clarks Summit, which is only half an hour from campus. While I do love Wilkes and know I made the right decision for my undergrad, I want to experience other places.

Who is your role model and why?

My biggest role model is my dad. He is the reason I was able to apply for this scholarship. He played football at Wilkes and graduated in 1992. He’s my biggest role model because I see how hard he works for everything he has, while still making our family his priority.

How does receiving the alumni scholarship help you and your family?

This scholarship is really helping me and my family because with the career path I want to follow I am going to need a lot more schooling. I’m going to have at least seven years of school total, so this scholarship is a big help with setting me up on my path for the future.

What is the best advice you would give to underclassmen?

The best advice I have for underclassmen is to not procrastinate. I know sometimes it’s easy to push things off until later, but that’s how work piles up and gets overwhelming. If you do it early and when it’s assigned, I promise you will have more than enough time to get all of your work done.

What do you do for fun?

For fun, I enjoy hanging out with my friends. I also like to take my dog, Dexter, for hikes. I enjoy golfing with my family when I’m home as well.

I am a pharmacy major in the Nesbitt School of Pharmacy and expect to graduate with my PharmD in the spring of 2027. For the 2024-25 academic year, I am serving as a P2 mentor to the incoming P1 students to provide them with professional and academic advice that will help them succeed in their future pharmacy-related endeavors. I also volunteer for events associated with the Nesbitt School of Pharmacy and assist with the recruitment of future pharmacy students.

What is your favorite thing about Wilkes?

My favorite thing about Wilkes is how it has always made me feel as though it is my home away from home. The smaller class sizes allow for me to make genuine connections with my classmates and professors and make me feel excited to learn and attend class every day. I also like how Wilkes is a very compact campus and how quick and easy it is to navigate between classes, activities, etc.

What has been your most rewarding opportunity at Wilkes?

My most rewarding opportunity at Wilkes has been applying for this scholarship and completing an application process that let me showcase my best self and everything that I have accomplished. I am also grateful for being able to acknowledge my mother’s achievements while she attended Wilkes and giving her recognition for being my greatest influence in life.

What are your plans for the future?

In the future, I hope to be a successful pharmacist, within a hospital or ambulatory-care setting, working directly with other healthcare professionals to deliver patient-centered care and individualized treatment plans. I wish to also build trustworthy and meaningful relationships with my patients to help them optimize the quality of their lives.

Who is your role model and why?

My role model is my mother because she has always been my biggest cheerleader and main supporter throughout my life. She has taught me what it is like to be a strong, independent and resilient person and how any challenge that I face can be overcome. As a Wilkes graduate, my mother works in the healthcare field as a registered nurse and has had the greatest influence on my future career choice. She has always talked so highly of her profession and how rewarding it is to have a career in healthcare because of her ability to truly change the lives of her patients. After hearing about the gratifying nature of working in the healthcare field, I decided that is where I was headed with my future career and pharmacy school was going to make that dream come true.

How does receiving the alumni scholarship help you and your family?

By receiving this scholarship, I am now able to continue my education without having financial worries or hardships. My family and I are very appreciative of this scholarship because it has alleviated the financial burden of having to pay for college tuition and any additional expenses related to my educational experience at Wilkes.

What is the best advice you would give to underclassmen?

Do not be afraid to learn and build from your mistakes! Life is a constant learning experience that we must build upon and not take for granted. Remember that it is completely okay to make mistakes and that nobody is perfect. College is a time where you will realize that you may make mistakes, but learning how to overcome those challenges and bettering yourself for the future is the best learning experience that college can offer.

What do you do for fun?

In my free time, I like to go shopping with my mom, read books on my Kindle, spend quality time with family members and loved ones and go on fun trips with my closest friends and boyfriend.