The family of a Pirate Nurse is carrying on her spirit of 50 years of nursing service by funding a scholarship that has helped unburden the next generation of graduates of East Carolina University’s College of Nursing.
Mary Lou Schulz Fisher graduated with a Bachelor of Science in nursing from East Carolina University in 1985, and went on to live a full life as a successful travel nurse. Fisher passed away in 2016 at the age of 72, and to honor her legacy her children established a scholarship in her name at ECU. Thus far, the Mary Lou Schulz Fisher scholarship has awarded $1,000 scholarships to five students, including Haley Gipson, a senior nursing student.
“This scholarship significantly helps ease the financial burden of my education,” Gipson said. “Financial support, like the Mary Lou Fisher Scholarship, allows me to focus more on my academic and career goals without the much-added stress of finances. Not only that but it encourages and motivates me to work hard and make the most of the opportunities that have been provided to me. I’m so grateful for the opportunities this scholarship has given me. It means the world to me and my nursing profession.”
Sarah Swain, executive director of Health Sciences Philanthropy with the ECU Health Foundation, said creating a scholarship is a powerful way to honor a loved one’s legacy.
“We’re deeply grateful to families like the Fishers who understand the impact of an ECU education and are committed to transforming the lives of our students — both now and for generations to come,” Swain said.
To learn more about supporting College of Nursing students through an academic scholarship or to make a gift, contact Swain at 252-847-5874.
A generous gift from the Bedford Falls Foundation-DAF, through the ECU Health Foundation, will launch a first-of-its-kind initiative at East Carolina University to establish a medic-to-nurse pathway that will bring military medics through the accelerated Bachelor of Science program in the College of Nursing.
The five-year, $2 million partnership strengthens the relationship between ECU and the military and will bridge the transition between active military service and careers in community health care.
When Hurricane Helene rolled into western North Carolina in late September, Pirate nurses — from the mountains to the coast — dropped what they were doing and rushed to storm-ravaged western North Carolina to do what Pirates do best — provide service to those in need with the critical skills they had learned at East Carolina University.
