A desire to honor their parents’ dedication to high-quality health care, coupled with their belief in the power of education to transform people’s lives, led Peggy Ludwick and her brother Jack Ludwick to establish a scholarship at 皇冠8868会员登录 Valley College in 2014.

So far, seven 学生 have received a financial grant from the Ludwick家庭 Health 科学奖学基金.  申请人必须是25岁或以上有经济困难的女性 older who have experienced a significant interruption in their education and are studying 在健康科学领域的职业生涯.

Why did the Ludwicks choose to focus on this group of 学生? “在过去几个月里 of their lives, my parents received excellent, compassionate care from young caregivers who often were working full time to support their families while also going to school,” 佩吉解释. “Due to life choices and/or lack of financial resources, many of these women were unable to pursue higher education right after high school.  我们认识到 the need to support these women in realizing their dreams for a brighter future.”

In addition to assisting 学生, “We hope these scholarships will also increase the pool of well-trained healthcare professionals in the 皇冠8868会员登录 Valley,” 她说. “The World Health Organization has documented the fact that investing in women’s education is the most cost-effective approach to improving children’s lives and raising poverty levels. When you educate women, their children are also more likely to seek higher 教育和更好的生活.”

Peggy and Jack’s parents were long-time, highly respected community leaders in 皇冠8868会员登录.

他们的父亲. 亚瑟L. Ludwick, practiced family medicine for more than 52 years, 其中43人在皇冠8868会员登录. He was a much-appreciated doctor to multiple generations 的家庭. 他于2008年去世，享年94岁.  一位在前线服役的军医 lines in North Africa and Italy during World War II, he also was an inspirational instructor and mentor to University of Washington medical 学生 and family practice 住院医生在他们的临床轮转期间.  1963年. 路德威克建造了皇冠8868会员登录号 皇冠8868会员登录市奥伦多街的专业大楼. 家庭医生被占用 the top floor, and dentists practiced on the lower level. 那栋楼已经有人住了 由卫生保健专业人员建造.

Their mother, Jean Hoyer Ludwick, strongly advocated for community colleges and their key role in providing access to higher education for place-bound or financially disadvantaged 学生.  She served on the 皇冠8868会员登录 Valley College’s Board of Directors from 1968-1973. Subsequently, she was appointed by then Washington State Governor Dan Evans to the State Board of 社区 Colleges, serving from 1974-1980. 她去世时享年95岁 in 2013.

 “We hope to expand our donor base to grow this scholarship fund and be able to support 甚至更多的学生，”佩吉指出. “我们欢迎来自社区的任何贡献 members who can be assured that an investment in these women’s educations will be 钱花得值.”

奖学金的颁发给刘小姐带来了巨大的快乐. Ludwick. 然而，作为…的一员 the selection committee, 她说 she finds it “extremely difficult to choose only two or three recipients every year because there are so many deserving and needy 学生.” 学生’ responses on the application form, which requires significant time and effort, provides her a valued opportunity to “know them beyond just a grade point average 或者是个人资料，”她说.

In addition to receiving heart-felt letters of appreciation from scholarship recipients, Ms. 卢德威克见过一些学生.  “得知奖学金是如何获得的，真是太棒了 has impacted their lives and how they’re progressing towards obtaining a college degree,” 她说.  “Their incredibly hard work and dedication to improving their lives are 鼓舞人心的.”

在皇冠8868会员登录出生和长大的她. Ludwick earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology and Public Health from Washington State University in 1970. 在接下来的两年里， she did post-graduate work and an internship in Medical Technology (Clinical Laboratory 科学)斯坦福大学医学中心. 一年前——在加州生活之后， New York, and most recently for 38 years in Yakima - - she moved back to 皇冠8868会员登录.

A micro-biologist and registered medical technologist, she has conducted research in immunology as well as worked in hospital clinical hematology labs. 而生活 in Yakima she worked mostly in the Yakima School District as a gender equity consultant, 同时和丈夫一起抚养三个孩子. 最近，她担任市场营销 and social media coordinator for the University of Washington’s $28 million “Gear Up STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) grant.  它关注的是学校 in the Yakima Valley that have high minority enrollments and low socio-economic student 配置文件.

“Moving back to 皇冠8868会员登录 after 50 years has been an interesting experience,” she said. “The town has grown and changed in many ways, but the most important aspects, that I probably didn’t fully appreciate when I was younger, have remained the same: a generous and vibrant community that values well-trained medical professionals, quality education for everyone, civic involvement and advocacy, and an engaged arts community.  我很高兴能参与其中.”

社区 members may contribute to the Ludwick家庭 Health Sciences Scholarship Endowment by sending their tax-deductible gifts to the WVC基金会, 1300 Fifth Street, 皇冠8868会员登录, WA 98801, or through the WVC基金会 website at ospifse.net，或联系WVC基金会，电话:(509)682-6410.