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Scholarships

Scholarship openings will be posted on this page as our department is made aware of them. Please check back regularly.

CSB/SJU Scholarships

There are four Scholarships offered and administered through the CSB/SJU Nursing Department:

  • Rita Tobin Scholarship
  • Jody Greener Oleen Scholarships
  • Yvonne Kremers Scholarship
  • S. Grace Donovan Scholarship 

The nursing department invites your application for these internal nursing scholarships ranging from $500-$2,119 to be awarded for the 2012/2013 school year. The application criteria for each scholarship are listed below and the scholarship award amounts are also included. Previous recipients of the scholarships can reapply. In order to be considered for the Nursing Department scholarships, you must have a college cumulative GPA above 3.2 and be accepted to the nursing major.  Please note that applications for scholarships awarded by external organizations are handled by the organization and not the Nursing Department.

Application for any of these four scholarships should be submitted directly to the Nursing Department office in Main 418. Applications are due on Friday, March 23, 2012.

Rita Tobin Scholarship - (1 award)

The Rita Tobin scholarship is a gift from Scott and Mary Kay May, who gave the gift to honor their dear friend Rita Tobin.  Once a Sister in the St. Benedict's Monastery, Rita was an x-ray technician early in her career and later became a social worker, first with senior citizens, and then in the Child Foster Care Program in Rochester, Minnesota. She is widely traveled, including two years working in Laos during the Vietnam War for the Thomas Dooley Foundation on a medical team caring for war refugees.  Rita currently lives in Rochester, where she is retired and now does respite foster care for teens, and makes herself available to family and friends needing help dealing with medical emergencies or other needs.

  • This scholarship has a constant value of $1,000 which is provided by the donors as part of their annual gift to the College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University. 
  • This scholarship is awarded to a CSB/SJU nursing student in good academic standing with financial need.

Application process for the Rita Tobin Scholarship:

1. Submit a one-page letter of application addressing the following criteria in your letter:

  • Name of the scholarship for which you are applying
  • Financial need
  • Academic and leadership accomplishments
  • Present and future professional goals 

2. Include one letter of reference from a professional who is not a CSB/SJU nursing faculty member. The letter of reference should address the following:

  • Dependability
  • Leadership potential
  • Ability to use critical thinking skills

3. Include the names of two CSB/SJU nursing faculty members who could address your academic performance in the nursing major. The Scholarship Committee will personally contact these references.

To determine the recipient of the scholarship the nursing faculty will consider the quality of the letter and references, the student's GPA and the student financial need evaluation from the CSB/SJU Financial Aid office. See criteria for evaluation of applications:

Criteria  for Rita Tobin scholarship award

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1. Needs assessment from Financial Aid (high=5, med=3, low=1)

 

 

 

 

 

2. College Cumulative GPA (must have 3.2 or above to qualify)

 

 

 

 

 

3. Statement of need and use of funds

 

 

 

 

 

4. Academic and leadership accomplishments (may included awards/honors)

 

 

 

 

 

5. Present and future goals

 

 

 

 

 

6. Letter of recommendation: dependability, leadership potential, critical thinking skills

 

 

 

 

 

7. Overall quality of writing

 

 

 

 

 

Total Points

 

 

 

 

 


Jody Greener Oleen Scholarships -  (1 award)

Jody Oleen was a non-traditional student who graduated from the CSB/SJU nursing program in 1991. She went on to work at the Saint Cloud Hospital. She initially worked on the Bone and Joint unit and after two years transferred to the Family Birthing Center. Maternity nursing was her first love and she delighted in her time spent with new families. In the late 1990's while driving to work at the hospital Jody was killed in a car accident.  This scholarship has been donated by Jan and Don Watkins to honor the memory of their niece Jody Greener Oleen. 

  • This scholarship is an endowed scholarship which means that each year the interest earned on the fund is spent so the value of the award varies each year.  For 2012, the amount of this scholarship is $1,143. This scholarship is awarded to a nursing student in good academic standing with financial need.

Application process for the Jody Oleen Scholarship:

1. Submit a one-page letter of application addressing the following criteria in your letter:

  • Name of the scholarship for which you are applying
  • Financial need
  • Academic and leadership accomplishments
  • Present and future professional goals 

2. Include one letter of reference from a professional who is not a CSB/SJU nursing faculty member. The letter of reference should address the following:

  • Dependability
  • Leadership potential
  • Ability to use critical thinking skills

3. Include the names of two CSB/SJU nursing faculty members who could address your academic performance in the nursing major. The Scholarship Committee will personally contact these references.

To determine the recipient of the scholarship the nursing faculty will consider the quality of the letter and references, the student's GPA and the student's financial need evaluation from the CSB/SJU Financial Aid office. See criteria for evaluation of applications:

Criteria  for Jody Oleen scholarship award

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1. Needs assessment from Financial Aid (high=5, med=3, low=1)

 

 

 

 

 

2. College Cumulative GPA (must have 3.2 or above to qualify)

 

 

 

 

 

3. Statement of need and use of funds

 

 

 

 

 

4. Academic and leadership accomplishments (may included awards/honors)

 

 

 

 

 

5. Present and future goals

 

 

 

 

 

6. Letter of recommendation: dependability, leadership potential, critical thinking skills

 

 

 

 

 

7. Overall quality of writing

 

 

 

 

 

Total Points

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yvonne Kremers Scholarship -  (1 award)

The scholarship gift is given by Al and Yvonne Kremers.  Yvonne Kremers is a graduate of the Saint Cloud School of Nursing and she also has a business degree from Saint Cloud State University. She was married to Al during the time she was a student and therefore understands the extra demands of being a nontraditional student.

  • This scholarship is an endowed scholarship which means that each year the interest earned on the fund is spent so the value of the award varies each year. For 2012, the amount for this scholarship is $500.
  • The applicant should apply for this scholarship initially in their sophomore year of nursing. The scholarship is designed to be used to fund the student's junior year in the nursing major with the intent of funding the student again in their senior year. The student must also be in good academic standing.  Non-traditional students, students with financial need and/or students who have work experience as a caregiver will be given preference.

Application process for the Yvonne Kremers Scholarship:

The applicant must be a sophomore student who will be a junior nursing student at the time the monies will be distributed OR a junior student who received the award the previous year.

1. Submit a one-page letter of application addressing the following criteria in your letter:

  • Name of the scholarship for which you are applying 
  • Financial need
  • Non-traditional status if applicable
  • Academic and leadership accomplishments
  • Present and future professional goals
  • Experience as a caregiver in a work or volunteer setting 

2. Include one letter of reference from a professional who is not a CSB/SJU nursing faculty member. The letter of reference should address the following:

  • Dependability
  • Leadership potential
  • Ability to use critical thinking skills
  • Knowledge of caregiver activities

3. Include the names of two CSB/SJU nursing faculty members who could address your academic performance in the nursing major. The Scholarship Committee will personally contact these references.

To determine the recipient of the scholarship the nursing faculty will consider the quality of the letter and references, the student's GPA,  the student's financial need evaluation from the CSB/SJU Financial Aid office and the student's nontraditional status if applicable. See criteria for evaluation of applications:

Criteria for Yvonne Kremers scholarship award

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1. Needs assessment from Financial Aid (high=5, med=3, low=1)

 

 

 

 

 

2.  College Cumulative GPA (must have 3.2 or above to qualify)

 

 

 

 

 

3.  Statement of need and use of funds

 

 

 

 

 

4. Academic and leadership accomplishments (may included awards/honors)

 

 

 

 

 

5. Present and future goals

 

 

 

 

 

6. Non-traditional status

 

 

 

 

 

7. Experience as a caregiver

 

 

 

 

 

8. Letters of recommendation: dependability, leadership potential, critical thinking skills

 

 

 

 

 

9.  Overall quality of writing

 

 

 

 

 

10. Previous award recipient as a junior student (yes=5, non=0)

 

 

 

 

 

Total Points

 

 

 

 

 

 

S. Grace Donovan Scholarship -  (1 to 2 awards)

This scholarship is awarded to a CSB/SJU nursing student who has an interest in working with the elderly.  The gift was given to recognize Sister Grace Donovan who worked at CSB for many years in Student Development (older alums may remember her as Sister Mary Mark).  Sister Grace was responsible for originating many of the programs that are in place today including orientation, building the apartments, the counseling department and student activities.  After leaving CSB, Sister Grace served as the Senior Dining/Meals on Wheels program director for Catholic Charities. 

  • This scholarship is an endowed scholarship which means that each year the interest earned on the fund is spent so the value of the award varies each year.  For 2012, the amount of this scholarship is $2,119. This scholarship is awarded to a nursing student in good academic standing who has an interest in working with the elderly after graduation.

Application process for the Grace Donovan Scholarship:

1. Submit a one-page letter of application addressing the following criteria in your letter:

  • Name of the scholarship for which you are applying 
  • Academic and leadership accomplishments
  • Present and future professional goals which should include a plan for work in the gerontology area of nursing. 

2. Include one letter of reference from a professional who is not a CSB/SJU nursing faculty member. The letter of reference should address the following:

  • Dependability
  • Leadership potential
  • Ability to use critical thinking skills

3. Include the names of two CSB/SJU nursing faculty members who could address your academic performance in the nursing major. The Scholarship Committee will personally contact these references.

To determine the recipient of the scholarship the nursing faculty will consider the quality of the letter and references, the student's GPA and the student's interest in gerontology nursing. See criteria for evaluation of applications:

Criteria for Sister Grace Donovan  scholarship award

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1.  College Cumulative GPA (must have 3.2 or above to qualify)

 

 

 

 

 

2. Academic and leadership accomplishments (may included awards/honors)

 

 

 

 

 

3. Present and future goals (must include interest in gerontology)

 

 

 

 

 

4. Letters of recommendation: dependability, leadership potential, critical thinking skills

 

 

 

 

 

5.  Overall quality of writing

 

 

 

 

 

Total Points

 

 

 

 

 

General Instructions

Since the criteria for both the Rita Tobin and Jody Oleen scholarships are the same you may apply for both with the same letter of application.  Make sure that you indicate in your letter of application that you are applying for both scholarships. The criteria for the Yvonne Kremers and Sister Grace Donovan awards are different and therefore each scholarship requires an individual application letter.  Each award also requires a letter of reference from a professional (not a nursing faculty member) and two names of CSB/SJU nursing faculty members.  You can use the same reference letter and faculty names for different awards as long as they address the appropriate criteria.  

All materials must be received no later than 4:00 PM Friday, March 23, 2012 to be considered for the scholarships.  Materials should be sent directly to the nursing office or placed in the assignment box on the fourth floor of the Main building.

If you have questions please contact:

Janet Neuwirth MS, RN
Scholarship Committee
Department of Nursing
Phone: 320-363-5089
E-mail: jneuwirth@csbsju.edu

We look forward to receiving your application.

Scholarships offered from outside organizations:

Website which includes scholarships and financial aid information free of charge:  http://www.nursingscholarship.us/