Keri Hodnett (Nursing)

Like most teenagers, I had some interesting ambitions. I thought I wanted to be an actress or work in some other glamorous profession as an adult. That was until my Mom grew ill with breast cancer when I was sixteen years old and a Junior in high school. I lost my Mom that year, after my family and I took care of her with the help of home health nurses for six months. It was and remains a devastating loss, but through the pain of it all I grew to understand the preciousness of life and I realized I wanted to help people, and that is what led me to MUW to study to become a Nurse.

My Mom is my role model and the reason that I will enter the Nursing program at Mississippi University for Women. Unfortunately, my Mom was not given a lot of time to live her life, but she used the time she had wisely and accomplished all of the goals she had set for herself. She was a teacher who loved her profession and she entered each day with hope and optimism. My Mom inspired me to do what I love and made sure that I would never give up on my dreams.

It would have been easy to give up after she passed away, but instead I found strength in the memory of my Mother’s persevering spirit. I was also inspired by the kindness and caring of the home health nurses who had helped my family through those very difficult months, and instead of giving up, I found the motivation to follow in the footsteps of those individuals who dedicate their lives to something greater than themselves through public service.

I write to you today because my dream of becoming a Registered Nurse would not have been possible without my scholarship. The scholarship that I receive is funded through the generosity of alumni like you who make a gift to the Annual Fund each year.

No matter how hard I had worked, without my scholarship, I would not have had access to higher education. Now, I am a freshman in the Division of Nursing, and I am grateful every day for this opportunity to achieve something that would make my mother proud of me.

Sincerely,

Keri Hodnett
Class of 2008