Maya Farmer, Lyka Fuentes, Caitlynn Hartley and Macy Lauramore were this year’s recipients of Dr. Benjamin Franklin Recognition Day Scholarships, which were presented April 28 at Lawtey’s Philadelphia Missionary Baptist Church.
Franklin, the scholarship fund’s namesake, was a member of Philadelphia Missionary Baptist Church.
The scholarships are awarded to students with an interest in medical/health professions.
Applicants were required to write an essay on their goals, objectives and need for financial assistance.
Maya Farmer
Maya Farmer will complete her work at Rasmussen University of becoming a registered nurse in January 2025. She’d like to continue her studies and earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing, with a goal of specializing in pediatric nursing.
In the letter that accompanied her scholarship application, Farmer wrote: “I have always wanted to be a nurse and work in healthcare. Nursing is a way that I can do something that I love and have financial independence. According to salary.com, pediatric nurses start out making an average of $62,000 to $96,000 per year.
“I took CNA classes in high school to make sure this profession was a good fit for me. I researched different types of nursing and specializations to help me understand what specialization suited me best.
“Helping people — especially children — has always been my passion. I was raised in a family of teachers, and helping children was ingrained in the way I was raised. I want to be there to help children in need. Nurses are key in the healthcare industry and provide care and compassion for their patients.”
Farmer would like to be a travel nurse or move to a different city and work in a hospital after earning her bachelor’s degree. She has created a network of current RNs and has discussed things like the best hospitals and cities for new nurses.
“Nursing will allow me to see different places and make a difference in children’s lives wherever I am,” she wrote.
Though she plans to specialize in pediatric nursing, she hasn’t ruled out becoming a certified registered nurse anesthetist, which will require two years of ICU experience in a doctorate program.
“A CRNA is a nurse who administers anesthesia and other medications,” Farmer wrote. “They also can monitor and care for people who are receiving or recovering from anesthesia.
“I would still like to practice in a hospital like Nemours Children’s Hospital, no matter if it’s as a pediatric nurse or a CRNA. The end goal is to be able to help children.”
In closing, Farmer wrote, “This scholarship will immediately help me as I make the transition to going on site to do clinicals in July. I will have to travel to Ocala and to Advent Health locations for classes and in hospital training. I also will need different supplies for being in the hospital setting that I will have to purchase out of pocket, like a watch with a second hand and a stethoscope.
“The scholarship will be a real blessing to me at this time of transition to my next phase of classes. This will benefit me on my journey into healthcare and help me reach my goal of becoming a pediatric nurse.”
Lyka Fuentes
Lyka Fuentes is currently enrolled in the LPN program at North Florida Technical College and works as a nursing assistant in a Jacksonville hospital. In her scholarship application letter, she wrote that “being a woman and maintaining work and school as well as home activities on a daily basis” creates difficult tasks and leaves her in need of financial assistance.
“The original factor that motivated my journey to pursue a career in the nursing field was my time working as a housekeeper in a nursing facility in Jacksonville, Florida,” Fuentes wrote. “During this time, I had an opportunity to engage with different patients in hospitals. These experiences significantly sparked my interest, strengthened my personal aspirations and established my professional goals.”
Fuentes’ goal is to become an RN and “contribute to the improvement of society as a whole and serve as an inspiration to aspiring nurses in this field.” She wrote that the scholarship would help her meet her financial needs while also enabling her “to focus on my education whilst simultaneously making a significant contribution to my community.”
“I am deeply committed to achieving outstanding clinical results, academic success, professional growth and scientific involvement,” Fuentes wrote. “However, the financial hurdles associated with my nursing education are challenging.”
Caitlynn Hartley
For as long as she can remember, Caitlynn Hartley has dreamed of being a nurse. In the letter accompanying her scholarship application, she wrote, “Growing up with my siblings, I was always asking my older sisters to play nurse with me, using baby dolls, plastic stethoscopes and our imagination. Naturally, as we grew older, everyone started asking what we wanted to be when we grew up, and my answer remained the same: a nurse. Although I knew it would be a challenge, my determination and excitement for my future success remained throughout the years.”
Hartley began researching schools with nursing programs when she became a Bradford High School student. She learned of schools’ requirements and wrote out a plan that would ensure her acceptance into a nursing program.
“I chose Santa Fe College,” Hartley wrote. “I visited the campus multiple times while still only in my junior year of high school and prepared to follow my plan carefully up until the day I would receive my nursing degree.”
Her plans were put on hold, though, when her mother (her only parent active in her life) moved away without warning.
“My plans to move to Gainesville and attend Santa Fe College and eventually their nursing program were put on hold,” Hartley wrote. “My priority was now finding a place to live without my mother’s support and learning how to be an adult without the guidance of a consistent parent. When my mother left, she also cut off any and all communication that she once had with me.
“After about a year, the time had finally come when I thought I was in a good place to start my college career, but as I was applying to receive financial aid, I quickly realized it was going to be much harder than I had anticipated (due to her mother’s failure to provide needed information).”
Hartley began taking classes anyway, paying all the costs herself, but she couldn’t keep that up, so school was put on hold. She has since been working two jobs to support herself and save money for school.
“I began the practical-nursing program at North Florida Technical College in August of 2023,” Hartley wrote. “Having the opportunity to kickstart my dream of becoming a nurse has been nothing short of a blessing. Attending college and clinicals has been amazing, and I continue to learn new things daily with a grateful heart.
“However, being in school still comes with a cost. I am in need of financial assistance in order to complete the nursing program because I am a low-income student providing for myself amidst the seemingly sudden increase in today’s cost of living.
“I believe I deserve this scholarship because I have set long-term goals for myself and my nursing career. Although I have faced a multitude of challenges, I have overcome them one by one.”
Hartley closed her letter by writing, “With this scholarship, I would have the confidence needed to succeed, not only with the nursing program, but also within my nursing career.”
Macy Lauramore
Whenever Macy Lauramore was asked about her goals in life, her reply was always the same: “I want to be a nurse.” In her scholarship application letter, she wrote, “Specifically, my heart’s desire is to be a neonatal nurse working in the NICU. While working in the NICU, I plan to continue my education to obtain a master’s degree and take the certification test to become a certified nursing midwife.”
Lauramore must first take the “necessary steps,” which means going through an LPN program and then earning an RN degree and a bachelor’s degree. After that, she can “begin working to make a difference in little lives.”
“I long to be a help to those in their times of great trial. ‘NICU’ is what every parent dreads to hear a lot of the time, and I want to be a little bit of light in the amount of time I have with these families,” Lauramore wrote. “There are also many babies who don’t have a full support family who need someone to care for them as, obviously, they cannot care for themselves.
“I believe a nurse can make or break a hospital experience when giving care. People just want caregivers to love their people. I fully believe I can offer love, care and support to a family in a tough situation. It may take me a while to get there, but my eyes are fixed, and my heart is eager.”
In closing her letter, Lauramore wrote, “Thank you for sowing into the future of healthcare. The future for the field is brighter because of opportunities like this one.”
