PCH Volunteers Announce Four Scholarship Winners

The Paris Community Hospital Volunteers have awarded $3,000 in scholarships to help students further their education in the healthcare field. Scholarships were awarded to four students for the 2018-2019 school year.

Hannah Emberton, a graduating senior at Paris High School, received a one-year, $1,000 college scholarship. She will attend the University of Illinois to pursue a degree in human development and family studies. She plans to attend graduate school and become a pediatric physician’s assistant.

“I have been interested in the medical field ever since I was young,” she said. “The thought of being able to help people who are in need of medical assistance has always intrigued me.”

The PCH Volunteers also awarded two, $500 nursing scholarships through the new Pat Spillman Memorial Scholarship. Recipients include Elizabeth Allanson of Paris and Brett Bishop of Chrisman. As a graduating senior at Paris High School, Allanson will study nursing at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.

“If I can make a positive difference in someone’s life as a nurse, I would feel very rewarded,” Allanson said.

Bishop, a physical therapy aide at Horizon Health, will study nursing at Ivy Tech Community College and Lakeview School of Nursing.

“While going through the process of having a baby, I encountered many nurses,” Bishop said. “They are amazing human beings. I realized I wanted to be a nurse.”

Amiraj Soni, a multispecialty radiologic technologist at Horizon Health, received a $1,000 scholarship to study sonography/ultrasound at Danville Area Community College.

“The sonography training will help me get licensed. I can then perform sonography/ultrasound that will help the patients,” he said.

The PCH Volunteer scholarships are available annually to Edgar County high school seniors, as well as Horizon Health employees. The Volunteers conduct several events throughout the year to help fund the scholarships, including chocolate sales. Funds for the scholarships also come from proceeds from the hospital gift shop.

The names of this year’s scholarship winners will be engraved on a plaque and permanently displayed near the gift shop.