Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) Scholars have a deep, long lasting passion for the medical field, even if sometimes it’s realized a bit later in life. Maranda Maynard’s family consists of a long line of medical professionals, and she says she always kind of knew she would end up in that field as well. Her grandmother retired from ARH in 1990 where she worked as a surgical technician.

“I think [interest in the medical field] runs in the family because my grandmother was a surgical technician for years,” Maranda says. “My mother is a circulating registered nurse in the OR and so I think it was almost inevitable. I shied away from it to try to do my own thing, but I didn’t like the corporate cubicle world.”

Before entering nursing school, Maranda earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting. She worked for Community Trust Bank in the internal audit department for a little over a year before deciding to take a different path.

“I was 17 when I graduated high school and it’s hard to decide what you wanna do for the rest of your life,” Maranda says. “That’s when I was like, well what else am I going to do? I love math because no matter what country you’re in or language you speak math is math, it’s always going to come out the same. So I was like, ‘I like math so I’ll do accounting because I’m good with numbers,’ I didn’t job shadow first…I guess I just wanted to take the easier path instead of thinking about what I really wanted to do long term.”

Maranda will graduate with her Associate’s Degree in nursing in May of 2019 and she plans on attending the University of Pikeville to earn her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Eventually she plans to earn her CRNA license and become a Nurse Anesthetist.

Maranda was one of the 11 finalists chosen among 72 ARH Scholars applicants. As an ARH Scholar, she will receive a financial reward of $5,000 toward tuition and living expenses while pursuing her nursing degree.

“I was absolutely elated [when I heard I was an ARH Scholar]!” Maranda says. “That is a huge weight off my shoulders, and a huge burden lifted.”

ARH is proud to support further education in the ARH communities and offer an opportunity these students may not otherwise receive.

“The competition was very intense,” explained Christopher Johnson, System Director of Employee and Labor Relations at ARH. “We are pleased to offer these awards in an effort to encourage individuals to pursue higher education.”

Maranda is excited to focus on making a difference in her community through a career she is truly passionate about.

“It’s been a long road to get here, but I think I’m finally where I’m supposed to be with nursing,” Maranda says. “When I worked in internal audit, I couldn’t handle sitting in front of the computer for eight hours a day…we didn’t get to work with customers or anything and I remember asking myself every day, ‘what difference am I making in someone’s life and in the world?’ When I decided to do nursing it just kind of checked all of my boxes. I’m up on my feet, I’m hands on, there’s that human interaction, and I’m in the position to make someone’s day better emotionally, physically, spiritually – just holistically.”

Maranda is extremely thankful for the opportunity to be an ARH Scholar and she is excited to finally work in a field where she feels she can make a difference every single day.

“[ARH Scholars has] made a world of difference for me,” Maranda says. “My stress level has been lessened significantly just knowing that I have a little bit of help for this final year of school. It takes my worry away from how I’m going to afford this so I can just focus on my studies and being the best student I can be.”

Story Published in Appalachian News-Express

Blake Burke is a recent graduate of Shelby Valley High School whose love of sports inspired him to pursue a career in Physical Therapy. Blake is one of the 11 students throughout the 12 ARH communities named a 2018 Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) Scholar.

“The scholarships are selected by the ARH Scholars Judging Committee,” says Danya Anderson, ARH Scholars Coordinator. “Once I receive the applications, I prepare them to be sent to the committee by making them a ‘blind’ application, which makes it fair for each applicant. The Scholars award is paid in two installments of $2,500 directly to the school.  One is payable after verification and the other is paid the following year. For this round, we had 72 applicants with 11 finalists awarded.”

As an ARH Scholar, Blake will receive a financial reward of $5,000 toward tuition and living expenses while beginning his college career pursuing a degree in Exercise Science with a minor in Business at Morehead State University. His goal is to ultimately become a physical therapist.

“I’m very grateful,” Blake says. “Any money is good money when it comes to college nowadays…I was pretty excited about it. It’s a great opportunity, especially for people who are going into the medical field. It relates to what I’m doing, it’s great for the community, and it’s a very good helping hand for people who are going into college.”

As an athlete playing basketball, football and baseball throughout his life, Blake can’t imagine not having the ability to walk or run. He has witnessed his grandmother go through physical therapy after having a stroke, an event he says really sparked his interest in the field.

“When I became a freshman in high school I knew I had to pick a career and at first I was interested in engineering, but I kind of realized that wasn’t for me,” Blake says. “My grandmother had a stroke a couple of years ago. She was also diagnosed with cancer right about that time. She went through physical therapy after the stroke and chemo therapy which made her 10 times as weak. I got to see a pretty good group of physical therapists work with her and rehabilitate her and I just wanted to be a part of that because I’ve been on the receiving end. I saw how she had to go through it and I really want to be able to help people with that. There are people who go through that every day.”

After completing his undergraduate degree, Blake plans to attend physical therapy school at the University of Kentucky. Ultimately, he would love to open his own private physical therapy practice.

“I just like to help people,” Blake says. “I understand it’s hard. Physical Therapy is not something that can happen over night. I just want to help people go from completely not being able to walk or do an action to being able to fully do it without help. I just want to be one of those people.”

Story Published in Appalachian News-Express Staff Report

McKinnlee Hatton – football player, musician and most importantly, future nurse – has been named a 2018 Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) Scholar.

He grew up in Clay County and is a recent graduate of Clay County High School, where he played football as a left tackle on the offensive line. He says he loves spending his free time playing any instrument with strings and volunteers playing music at the local nursing home with his church, Turkey Foot Pentecostal.

McKinnlee’s interest in the medical field came after a traumatic experience when he was four-years-old.

“As a young kid, I hemorrhaged from a tonsillectomy and if it wasn’t for the doctors and nurses I probably wouldn’t be here today,” McKinnlee says. “I just want to help people and what really sparked it all was being a survivor because of the nurses and doctors.”

He was overwhelmed and happy after learning he had been named one of the 11 Spring 2018 ARH Scholars selected as winners. He was one of 72 student applicants entering the medical field from the 12 ARH communities chosen to participate in the program. As an ARH Scholar, McKinnlee will receive a financial reward of $5,000 toward tuition and living expenses while beginning his college career pursuing a degree in Nursing at Kentucky Christian University in the fall. His goal is to become a nurse offering the same kind of outstanding care as he received as a child.

“The competition was very intense,” explained Christopher Johnson, System Director of Employee and Labor Relations at ARH. “We are pleased to offer these awards in an effort to encourage individuals to pursue higher education.”

“The scholarships are selected by the ARH Scholars Judging Committee,” says Danya Anderson, ARH Scholars Coordinator. “Once I receive the applications, I prepare them to be sent to the committee by making them a ‘blind’ application, which makes it fair for each applicant. The scholars award is paid in two installments of $2,500 directly to the school.  One is payable after verification and the other is paid the following year.”

After completing his undergraduate degree, McKinnlee plans to pursue his Master’s Degree in Nursing and ultimately become a nurse practitioner.

“I want to be a role model for people,” McKinnlee says. “I just want to help others and to show how to be courageous and a good Christian person to other people.”

McKinnlee is excited to begin his college career, making him one step closer to fulfilling his dream of becoming a nurse and bettering his community.

Story published in The Manchester Enterprise