Congratulations to the 19th Annual HCC & AMN Healthcare Scholarship Essay Contest winner, Harshil Shah.

Harshil Shah, 2022 AMN Healthcare/HCC Scholarship winner is a recent graduate of Valencia High School and is now studying Biomedical Sciences at the University of South Florida. He is deeply passionate about serving the community and in the future aims to aid communities that are medically underserved. During high school, he served as a volunteer at a local hospital and medical nonprofit organizations like Operation Smile. He also helped serve his community by volunteering as a basketball coach and Science Olympiad mentor at his local middle school. Harshil hopes to continue his efforts of serving others by becoming a physician so that he can positively impact and inspire people to live healthier and happier lives.

Congratulations to the 19th Annual HCC & AMN Healthcare Scholarship Essay Contest winner, Nneoma Meremikwu.

Nneoma Meremikwu, 2022 AMN Healthcare/HCC Scholarship winner is currently a freshman at the University of California, San Diego where she majors in Human Biology. She plans to complete medical school and pursue a career as a physician after receiving her bachelor's degree. However, her career goal is to contribute to closing the racial gap the medical field has been facing, notably among black physicians.  She also has aspirations to provide affordable healthcare to marginalized communities and form a nonprofit STEM organization that black and brown students have access to. 

Congratulations to the 19th Annual HCC & AMN Healthcare Scholarship Essay Contest winner, Matthew Campos.

Matthew Campos, 2022 AMN Healthcare/HCC Scholarship winner is a current senior at Azusa Pacific University studying Psychology with minors in Sociology and Spanish. In high school, Matthew began volunteering at Noah Homes, a residential community for adults with developmental disabilities and became passionate about sitting with the stories of those living with any form of disability or chronic condition. As he transitioned into college, he sought ways to meet the social and emotional needs of families navigating chronic disease in his local community. This led him to intern with Alzheimer’s San Diego throughout the pandemic, serving as a virtual companion to families navigating Alzheimer’s disease. Through Zoom, traveling abroad to participate in a medical service trip in Guatemala, or conducting public health research at Brown University, Matthew’s pursuit of healthcare never loses sight of the individual and their story. As he embarks on a career in public health, he is motivated by the fact that behind every statistic is a story, a family member, and a fighter. After graduating in the spring, Matthew plans to matriculate into a Master’s of Public Health (MPH) program. He's committed to ensuring access to healthy aging is equitable across diverse communities and desires to serve families living with chronic conditions through research and practice.

Congratulations to the 18th Annual HCC & AMN Healthcare Scholarship Essay Contest winner, Bryan Cheng.

Congratulations to the 17th Annual HCC & AMN Healthcare Scholarship Essay Contest winner, Argentina Fretwell.

Argentina Fretwell, 2020 AMN Healthcare/HCC Scholarship winner, is a current Palomar College nursing student. Before being admitted to the nursing program, Argentina volunteered at Sharp Memorial Hospital and worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant on a telemetry unit. She also has her basic life support and medical terminology certifications. Her next goal is to obtain her Spanish medical terminology certificate. Argentina’s previous volunteer and work experience has made it easier for her to transition to her new role as a student nurse. During COVID-19, she has also learned about how essential it is for nurses and healthcare workers to be flexible and adaptable to different situations. This semester has been a unique learning experience for Argentina and her nursing instructors, but she is enjoying every minute of her simulation lab experiences and Zoom lecture meetings.

Congratulations to the 16th Annual HCC & AMN Healthcare Scholarship Essay Contest winner, Oberlyn Gambito.

Oberlyn Gambito recently graduated from Sweetwater High School. She will be attending the University of California San Diego this coming fall and major in Molecular and Cell Biology. Migrating to the United States was a major turning point of her life because she had to adapt to a whole new culture that was substantially different from the culture she was accustomed to. For instance, the English language placed her in massive struggle. Initially, she struggled to do well in school due to her inability to understand and speak English fluently. But, she persevered to advance her ability to speak the English language by reading books and taking ELD class. Consequently, she was able to maintain her spot on the Principal’s Honor Roll and graduated high school with a GPA of 4.42. Overcoming this language barrier further encouraged Oberlyn to keep achieving highly in her academics and pursue her dream of becoming a Pediatrician. To gain experience in the medical setting, she joined the Health Academy Program at her high school. In addition to taking medical related classes, she was given the opportunity to participate in a mentorship program at Scripps Mercy Hospital where she worked closely with doctors in different departments. Determined to further her experience, Oberlyn is actively looking for more medical related volunteer opportunities in order to acquire more knowledge about the field she sees herself in the future.

Congratulations to the 15th Annual HCC & AMN Healthcare Scholarship Essay Contest winner, Tanner Curnow.

Tanner graduated from Fallbrook Union High School. He will be attending California Baptist University for a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Tanner interned at Palomar Hospital, and said he knew he wanted to become a nurse after caring for a hospice patient who lived for six months and passed away in my home during my junior year of high school. Currently, Tanner is working night shifts as an Emergency Room Technician at Paradise Valley Hospital as well as a second year California State Beach Lifeguard.

Tung Nguyen, 2017 AMN Healthcare/HCC Scholarship winner is a recent graduate of Patrick Henry High School who is attending San Diego State University studying Biology. After immigrating to the United States just four years ago, Tung was determined to be the one who made a difference for his family. He overcame a variety of  hardships and continued to excel in school, graduating with a 4.21 cumulative GPA. In his scholarship essay submission, Tung shared, "Being an immigrant has taught me how to overcome struggles, how to stay determined and work hard towards my goal of becoming a first-generation college student for my family and achieve my dream career of being an epidemiologist."

Lauren Haneke-Hopps, 2016 AMN Healthcare/HCC Scholarship winner is a recent graduate from Patrick Henry High School who is now attending University of Alabama studying the field of Kinesiology and playing collegiate wheelchair tennis. As an adapted athlete, she has personally experienced what it feels like to receive much needed healthcare assistance. In her essay, Lauren shared, “Being in a wheelchair does not limit me; I hope to share with those that have been born with a disability or injured, that anything is possible to overcome and achieve any goal that is sent in their mind.” After four years of studying Kinesiology, she plans to become an occupational or physical therapist.

Nagham Adeeb, 2015 AMN Healthcare/HCC Scholarship winner is attending UC San Diego studying general biology. Nagham came to the United States from Iraq in 2008. She is a graduate of El Cajon Valley High School and says to believe in yourself because if a group of strangers believe in you and picked you for this scholarship to pick you can do it to." 

Shay Ricketts, 2014 AMN Healthcare/HCC Scholarship winner is attending University of San Diego and last we heard was majoring in either Biophysics or Biology. Shay is a San Diego native. She attended Valhalla High School and was a competitive runner. According to an article in usdtoreros.com Shay was once named Second Team All-CIF, High School Student Athlete of the Year. Steve When and the team at AMN Healthcare scrubbed through hundreds of scholarships and found Shay's to be the most original and inspirational in 2014. We were happy to receive a video from Shay providing us a beautiful tour of her campus at USD as well as some helpful tips for the new college student. Shay told us in this video interview,  "Thank you again for awarding me the scholarship last year. It has made all the difference and has made USD economical feasible for me and my family." You can hear more in this short video clip Shay shared with us last year, which was presented at our 2015 Finest Awards celebration.