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The Portage Health Foundation is pleased to announce its partnership with Michigan Technological University in the creation of a health-science scholarship program for local students. Michigan Tech will begin offering currently enrolled students opportunities to apply for the PHFoundation scholarship this fall.
The Portage Health Foundation is a non-profit charitable foundation serving Baraga, Houghton, Keweenaw, and Ontonagon counties. The foundation receives and contributes charitable donations to support the health needs of the community through enhanced philanthropy and community collaboration. Three of the foundation’s pillars of giving are focused on health education, health research, and emerging healthcare leaders. Reinvesting money through educational scholarships is one way the organization believes it can uphold these pillars and positively affect the health of the region.
With an ever-increasing aging population, the PHFoundation recognizes the demand for more healthcare workers to provide quality access to care in order to meet the health needs of rural communities and their residents. “Having worked in healthcare recruitment for a number of years, I appreciate the challenge of maintaining and growing our healthcare community,” said Kevin Store, Executive Director of the Portage Health Foundation. The collaboration between the PHFoundation and Michigan Tech to provide health-based scholarships is an exciting step in developing a workforce that meets the needs of the four counties.
Additionally, the PHFoundation hopes that these students will remain in the Upper Peninsula as professionals and become partners in creating a healthier U.P. community. The foundation’s future intentions with this scholarship program are to make these awards renewable to students, expand the program to include additional colleges, and to one day, have an endowed scholarship fund. “We are genuinely pleased to be able to assist undergraduates in their degree pursuits and to help ease the financial burden associated with higher education. We hope these scholarships will have a positive impact on students as they study to become healthcare professionals,” added Store.
For the 2015-2016 academic year, the PHFoundation is offering Michigan Tech $20,000 in student scholarships. Students who are eligible for consideration are those who originate from Baraga, Houghton, Keweenaw, or Ontonagon County; seek a degree in the health sciences; demonstrate financial need; maintain at least a 2.5 GPA; and are enrolled fulltime. Michigan Tech administrators will review applications and make recipient selections. Undergraduates should contact MTU’s financial aid office for more information and on how to apply. Non-traditional students are also encouraged to submit an application.
