Spotlight: Doing Good
In Harrison County

A DREAM REALIZED: JEANIE R., R.N.

A few years ago, a young nursing student stood among her peers at Maysville Community and Technical College and participated in an age-old tradition—the pinning ceremony. Her dream had come true. After long hours of study and hard work, she was finally a full-fledged nurse.

For Jeanie R., the road to nursing school graduation had not been easy. Raised on a farm in rural Harrison County, she wasn’t a stranger to hard work. Her large family lived well below the poverty level and everyone pitched in as best they could. But ever since she was a little girl, Jeanie had wanted to be a nurse. Early on she played nurse with her dolls, and later she turned to “nursing” her pets, her siblings and even her schoolmates. While going to college and getting a nursing degree might have seemed an impossibility for others in her situation, Jeanie was determined. It was all she ever wanted to do.

After high school, she contacted the Harrison Community Foundation to apply for scholarship money. In combination with a Pell Grant, and with the help of her local community foundation, she was able to enroll and graduate with the degree she always wanted.“The Foundation fueled Jeanie’s dream,” says Board Member Bruce Florence, “but her work ethic and determination got her through and finished the job. We’re very proud of her.”

Today Jeanie R. is an R.N. at a Lexington hospital.