AHOSKIE – The winners of this year’s Vidant Roanoke-Chowan Hospital Medical Staff Scholarships have been announced.

“Congratulations to this year’s deserving students selected to receive medical staff scholarships,” said Dr. David Lingle, chief of staff at Vidant Roanoke-Chowan Hospital. “Our scholarship program was established to recognize outstanding high school students who have achieved strong academic records and wish to pursue a career in medicine and healthcare related fields.”

The scholarship program was set up under the guidance and leadership of Dr. Lingle, a general surgeon at Vidant-RCH. A scholarship committee comprised of medical staff members collaborates with local high schools and community colleges to find qualified candidates. Applications are received from schools throughout the area and each scholarship recipient receives $2,000 to continue educational efforts.

“We are pleased to present these scholarships of such significant amounts thanks to the medical staff physicians who contribute to this fund,” states Dr. Lingle. “Special thanks to Dr. Madhu Parmar for her oversight of the selection process. Teachers hailed this year’s recipients as exceptionally gifted, highly motivated and empathetic leaders.”

The scholarship winners are:

Alexander Boyd Tisdale, a graduate of Ridgecroft School and the North Carolina School of Math and Science, is attending UNC Chapel Hill. He is majoring in biology and aspires to be an oncologist. His drive to be an oncologist stems from watching a loved one fight cancer.

“My grandmother’s breast cancer was my first introduction to cancer and the beginning of a relationship with the disease that has shaped the very person I hope to become,” says the scholarship recipient, a former Volunteen at Vidant Roanoke-Chowan Hospital.

Emma Elizabeth Hughson, a graduate of Bertie County Early College and Martin Community College, is attending UNC at Chapel Hill. She is majoring in biology and also learned about healthcare by serving as a Volunteen at the hospital.

According to Emma, as she watched and cared for her grandmother during her fight with lung cancer, she spent ‘countless hours’ in the emergency departments of local hospitals.

“My understanding of the limited resources of medical providers in rural areas led to my interest in becoming an emergency room physician,” says the student. “As an ER physician, I would be able to assist in meeting the demands for adequate emergency medical care in areas like my hometown of Colerain.”

Lauren Elizabeth Harrell, a graduate of Ridgecroft School, is attending UNC at Chapel Hill and is planning to major in biology.

“I have always loved helping others and working with children. It played a huge role in shaping my goal to be a pediatrician,” Harrell states.

“As these young women and men take their first steps into adulthood, we applaud their courage and extraordinary talent which made this year very competitive,” said Dr. Lingle. “We plan to continue the Medical Staff Scholarship Program to aid local high school students’ efforts in pursuing careers in medicine and healthcare-related fields. “On behalf of our entire medical staff and hospital President Patrick Heins, I wish all of the students a productive and successful academic year,” Lingle concluded.