Friends of Chinook Regional Hospital (CRH), along with Alberta Health Services Volunteer Resources have announced the four volunteers who will be receiving Healthcare Professionals of Tomorrow scholarships.
The scholarships are being awarded to young people who are looking to have a career in healthcare, who live within the hospital’s service area and have volunteered with patients at CRH. Two are for $2,000, being awarded to Vinura Abeysekara and Amy Quan and two $1,500 scholarships being awarded to Saffren Colbourne and Hunter Johnson.
Abeysekara is pursuing a bachelor of science in biochemistry at the University of Lethbridge and has been volunteering at CRH since 2019
“I volunteer as a way to give back to the community,” says Abeysekara. “It’s also a good first step into healthcare, which I have always wanted to pursue a career in. Receiving this scholarship will help me a lot in my goal of pursuing a career as a family physician and is a reminder that giving back to the community is always appreciated.”
Quan hopes to eventually go to medical school to become a radiologist and will be attending the University of British Columbia in the fall.
“Volunteering not only gives me the opportunity to spread kindness and make people’s day, but it also gives me a chance to work in a healthcare setting,” says Quan. “I’d like to thank the volunteer coordinators at CRH — especially Filomena Laporte-Packer and Hilary Holt — for providing a diverse range of opportunities and inspiring me to fully commit to pursuing a career in healthcare.”
Colbourne says he’ll use his scholarship to pursue a nursing career and has been a volunteer in Wayfinding and Diagnostics and Imaging since 2019.
“I became a volunteer because I wanted to get more exposure to the realities of the hospital-setting and wanted to give back to my local community,” he says. “I’m extremely lucky to be able to make people’s hospital visit less daunting. Putting a smile on their faces makes volunteering all worth it.”
Johnson has been volunteering at CRH while working towards a master of science at the University of Lethbridge.
“Volunteering has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life,” says Johnson. “Volunteering has allowed me to surround myself with like-minded people who strive to make a positive impact on everything they do, giving me a sense of purpose, involvement and determination. Receiving this award will alleviate some of the financial stress associated with post-secondary schooling, allowing me to completely focus on my research, future schooling and other volunteer activities.”
Executive director Daniel Erickson says the program is a great opportunity to support hard working future healthcare professionals and adds he is excited to see what these four achieve in the future.