MANSFIELD, PA— The Linderman and McGlenn family names go back centuries in Troy and Bradford County, PA and are known for their hard work and love of their community. Thanks to a new scholarship fund for Mansfield University nursing students, their names and their good works will continue and benefit the area for many years to come.
The Robert Packer Hospital School of Nursing Alumni Scholarship, given by the Linderman-McGlenn Family Trust, will benefit at least one student from Bradford County this year, with more scholarships planned for the future.
JeanMarie (Linderman) Warpus, the niece of Montague and Amelia Linderman, spearheaded the effort.
“If you go in the history, we have people tied to this area (Troy and Bradford County) since the 1700s,” she said. “It’s important that this be a continuing part of the family history.”
Mrs. Warpus of Scranton, PA graduated from the Robert Packer Hospital School of Nursing in 1962, before it was affiliated with Mansfield University, and gives the education and training she received much of the credit for allowing her a rewarding career that included being named national Orthopedic Nurse of the Year in 1979, publishing 16 articles in professional journals and travelling internationally to participate in seminars.
“When I travelled to take part in these seminars, instructors would
ask me where I graduated from,” she said. “Almost every one of them knew the reputation of the Robert Packer and Guthrie. I hope this scholarship fund inspires nurses to set goals and reach out and go further because it’s going to help somebody.”
The selection committee, using a criteria based on leadership, team work, nursing values, skills and professionalism, work ethic and community involvement, among other factors, selected Christy Swain of Troy, PA as the first recipient of the $5,000 Robert Packer Hospital School of Nursing Alumni Scholarship on November 13.
“Receiving this scholarship is a huge honor,” Swain said. “The scholarship will definitely help alleviate some of the financial aspects of finishing my degree, but I am more in awe that a committee of people chose me to receive this scholarship. That is the thing that means the most to me; people believe in me, believe I have something to offer.
“I have often wondered if pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing was really the smartest thing to have tried to do,” she added. “Nursing school, working full time (until this past July) and being a single mom with three kids at home made it sometimes difficult. Becoming the recipient of this scholarship reinforces that, although it’s been tough in many ways, I made the right choice in entering Mansfield’s nursing program four years ago.”
“I hope that, through the publicity for this scholarship fund, the public becomes aware of what a nurse needs education-wise, support-wise and finance-wise,” Warpus said. “I also hope it lights a fire in people thinking about nursing and opens doors for them and that it provides a nest egg for somebody who couldn’t have done it otherwise. I know that would make Uncle Monty and Aunt Amelia very happy.”
Contributions to the scholarship fund are welcome and can be sent to the RPH School of Nursing Scholarship Trust, Citizens & Northern Bank, 90-92 Main Street, Wellsboro, PA 16901.