[May 17, 2024 Huntington, W.Va.] – Valley Health is pleased to award $17,000 in scholarships to individuals who are pursuing careers in medicine, health sciences or health administration. The three winners of the $5,000 Minority Healthcare Scholarships are Jonathan Aya-Ay ( pronounced Eye-Eye) , a graduating senior from Huntington High School who plans to study premed at Marshall University; Dazia (pronounced Day-juh) Parsons, a nursing student from Collins Career Technical Center; and Melanese Benjamin, a student at North Carolina Central University in the pre-nursing major. This is the second year Benjamin has received the Minority Healthcare Scholarship.
The recipient of the $2,000 2024 Cokey Muth Registered Nurse Scholarship is Kelsey Huffman. Huffman is enrolled in West Virginia University Institute of Technology and in the BSN program through the main WVU campus in Morgantown. The Cokey Muth Registered Nurse Scholarship was created in the fall of 2023 to honor the life and legacy of late Valley Health Systems Inc. Board member and registered nurse Cokey Muth.
The recipients were honored and presented with scholarship checks at a reception May 17th held at the Valley Health Pea Ridge Business Center in Huntington.
“We are excited to provide scholarships to four exceptional students who are pursuing careers in the healthcare field. These students have shown a true dedication to helping and serving others, and we are proud to support them on their journey towards making a difference in the lives of those they will serve. As an organization committed to providing quality healthcare to our community, we recognize the importance of investing in the next generation of healthcare professionals, and we are honored to do so through these scholarships.” – Steve Shattls, President & CEO of Valley Health Systems Inc.
Valley Health congratulates this year’s scholarship winners and looks forward to providing financial help to more future healthcare professionals with its 2025 awards.
The new scholarship cycle opens November 1, 2024, applications can be found at www.valleyhealth.org. The 2025 deadline is March 1, 2025.
