2023 NERA Scholarship Recipients

HM2 Emma Nolan

Emma is currently a Naval Reservist living in Bremerton, Washington where she finished her active duty career. After finishing a four year enlistment, she took her discharge so that she could finish her degree and transition to an officer as a Nurse and then a doctor. In the fall she plans to attend the Portland, Oregon campus of Concordia University, St. Paul in an accelerated programs to obtain her BSN. Then she plans to attend medical school to earn a PHD as a doctor of Osteopathy. She has maintained a 3.42 GPA.

Mary Purtill

Mary developed a love of languages while attending Virginia Tech completing a minor in languages sciences, graduating magna cum laude. She plans to “pursue this course of study as far as it can take me.” She hopes to use this skill working for the U.S. government. She will be attending the University of Edinburgh this fall. Her GPA was 3.42 during her undergraduate studies.

Omari Starkes

An incoming freshman, Omari is enrolling in Tidewater Community College in order to pursue a course of study in Nursing with an ultimate goal of becoming a Nurse Practitioner. He plans to attend Tidewater Community College in the fall. Tidewater maintains an exceptional nursing program. His desires were fueled by the impact that healthcare professionals had on his life and that of his family. In his high school career, Omari maintained a 4.0 GPA.

Ashley Williams

Ashley is a sophomore at Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas where she is a biology major. Her career goal is to become a trauma surgeon in the US military. She states that she has known for some time that public health and service is her calling. She has maintained a 4.0 GPA in her first year at TT. She hopes to attend the Armed Forces medical school in Bethesda, MD, upon graduation.

Jessica Wollesen

Jessica will be a senior at the Colorado School of Mines where she has been pursuing a degree in Quantitative Biosciences and Engineering where she is researching the activity of toxic reactive oxygen species within the human body. She states that throughout her undergraduate experience, “her goal has been reshaped and redeveloped while never parting from the central mission of saving lives.” Her three year GPA is 4.0.

Congratulations to these scholarship recipients. NERA wishes you continued success and is honored to be part of your educational journey.