These full-tuition scholarships help financially needy women and men who are single parents pursuing a bachelor’s degree in nursing. The Van Nostrand Scholars simply would not be able to afford their education and transform their trajectory without this scholarship.
Kathy Kitto and Dennis Waller established this scholarship in honor of Dennis' mother, Marion Van Nostrand, who unexpectedly became a single parent of two children, aged nine and five months, when her husband, a pathologist, was tragically killed in an auto accident six weeks after completing his residency. Everything emotionally and everything financially had been invested in his education, and one July day in 1952, he was swept off the board. After her husband's death, she continued to work full-time and completed her MS degree in genetics and, six years later, her PhD in clinical pathology. At her death in 1984 from colon cancer, she was a Professor of Medicine.
Through the years, Kathy and Dennis have helped students who, like Marion, are working very hard to achieve their dreams of an education and career but are struggling to make ends meet. Often these students end up working multiple jobs while trying to juggle the demands of parenting and studying, making it nearly impossible to graduate in a timely manner, if at all.
Thank you for helping us provide even more financial support for these fantastic, hard-working students. The Van Nostrand Award covers the full direct cost of education, including tuition, fees, and books.
Marion Van Nostrand Scholarship
The purpose of this scholarship is to promote a more diverse and gender-equitable environment by providing scholarships to students who are single parents with custodial children and who are enrolled full-time in the four-quarter RN-to-BSN program. Preference will be given to transfer students from the RN program at Bellingham Technical College who were recipients of the Marion Van Nostrand Scholarship at BTC. Additional preference will be given to students with significant financial need.
Single parents enrolled in the College of Science and Engineering majoring in science, science education, mathematics, or engineering (electrical and computer engineering, plastics and materials engineering, and manufacturing engineering) with significant financial need are also eligible.
The annual award will be full in-state tuition, all fees, and $1,000 for books and educational supplies. Support for qualified CSE students will be continued in subsequent years so long as the student is making satisfactory academic progress toward a degree and scholarship funds are available.
