BARRHEAD - Two former Barrhead Composite High School (BCHS) alumni received a welcome financial boost thanks to the Barrhead Healthcare Centre's auxiliary and a former honoured physician.
Last week, the Barrhead Healthcare Centre's auxiliary presented Kamryn Wood and Faith Boss with the Dr. B. Bose Nursing Scholarship.
The auxiliary is a charity that supports both the Barrhead Healthcare Centre and the Barrhead Cancer Centre.
Wood is in her second year of Northern Lights' licensed practical nursing (LPN) program, while Boss is going into her fourth year of Red Deer Polytechnic's Bachelor of Nursing Science.
Wood, who is originally from Fort Assiniboine, graduated from BCHS in 2021, while Boss graduated in 2022 after transferring from Neerlandia Public Christian School (NPCS). The auxiliary also awarded a third scholarship to Sunny Kryger, who was unable to attend the Aug. 18 ceremony.
Auxiliary board member Diane Wierenga and Heather Thompson said for the last three years, the not-for-profit society has awarded $10,000 worth of scholarships to a BCHS graduate who is currently enrolled in a nursing program and has completed at least one year of post-secondary nursing studies.
Specifically, the funds come from a $1.3 million endowment that Dr. Bireswar Bose left to the hospital.
Originally from Calcutta, India, Bose received his initial medical training, he came to Barrhead in 1970 with his wife, Anita Roy, a physician specializing in anesthesiology. This followed stints in England, where he was a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and Edinburgh, and University of Pennsylvania hospital in Philadelphia, and served the community until his retirement in 2002.
"Dr. Bose was a big supporter of nurses and education, which is why the auxiliary felt it was appropriate to combine two of his loves and create this scholarship in his name," Wierenga said.
Auxiliary members Shirley Blum and Grace Schrader noted that the amount of the scholarships varies each year, as it is dependent on the number of scholarships awarded.
In total $10,000 is awarded annually.
"You can't believe how much this scholarship means to me and how much of a burden this lifts," Wood said.
Boss echoed the comment, adding that her books alone cost her $2,000.
To help raise money for their studies, Wood works as a health care aid, a certification she received through BCHS' dual-credit program in partnership with NorQuest College, at the Barrhead Healthcare Centre.
Wood said she has always known she wanted to do something in the health care field.
"My younger sister has cerebral palsy, and although I have helped take care of her, I wanted to be able to do more for her and others that was able to," she said.
However, Wood said, it wasn't until she began working as a health care aide that she truly realized a health care career was for her.
"It was then that I realized how much I loved this type of work," she said.
Boss credits a teacher at NPCS who suggested nursing as a potential fit after a Grade 7 career fair.
"She knew I was looking for a career where I could help people, and [Lise Wruk] suggested that I would make a really good nurse," she said.
To learn more about the scholarship and the auxiliary, visit www.barrheadauxiliary.com.
Blum said that if people like what they read on the website, she invites them to reach out to the auxiliary, stating that they are always looking for new people.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
