The Niagara College Retirees’ Association (NCRA) is honouring long-standing member and former campus nurse Carolyn Hurst-Gould by providing three $1,000 scholarships in her name to students entering the new Honours Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program. The College expects to welcome its first intake of 60 students into the program for Fall 2024 term.
“Carolyn… served for many years as the Niagara College nurse, during a time when Welland hosted the main campus, accompanied by several small campuses in Niagara, prior to creation of the Daniel J. Patterson campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake,” said Stu Black, NCRA President. “Carolyn has been an active member on the retirees’ association executive, holding the role of president for several years.”
It was late in 2023 that the NCRA executive unanimously decided to name the new nursing scholarships the Carolyn Hurst-Gould Scholarships to recognize her many years of service to the College.
Hurst-Gould said it was an “honour” to have the scholarships named for her.
“The 17 phenomenal years I spent at Niagara College was truly the highlight of my nursing career and it was very hard to retire,” Hurst-Gould said upon hearing of the scholarships that will bear her name. “I loved so many things about my practice there, it’s difficult to sum it all up in a few sentences.
“Without a doubt, one of my favourite things was that there were no two days the same. Every day brought opportunities to help others and yes, there were days with challenges. I really believe that I learned as much as I was able to share and the chance to help even one student make a small difference in their life was such a gift. I met so many wonderful students with so much potential over the years, and to know that these scholarships are going to students entering the new nursing program is exciting.”
The NCRA is a community of former NC employees who meet regularly for friendship, socializing and student support. The group encourages physical and mental well-being by organizing walks and hikes across the region, tours to places of interest and presentations from informative and entertaining speakers.
Members also meet for lunch on the first Wednesday of the month between September and June for fellowship.
Through bursaries and scholarships, and by financially supporting the Nourishing Minds food program and the Student Emergency Financial Assistance (SAFE) Fund, the NCRA’s support for students continues to grow–due solely to the generosity of its membership.
“With the pandemic cancelling monthly luncheons and other social activities, the dues stream started to dry up,” Black said. “(We) asked for support so that we could meet our financial commitments to student assistance. We simply asked our members to pay their annual dues of $15 (we have since raised dues to $25). The response exceeded all our expectations. Not only did members pay their dues, they included unsolicited donations. Retirees who had not been members of NCRA also sent dues and donations. We reached an all-time high in memberships, and we were empowered to increase our financial support.”
He said the generosity of NCRA members has not waned since, which may lead to even more annual scholarships.
All former Niagara College employees are eligible to join NCRA and can do so by clicking on the “Join Us Today” button on the homepage of the association’s website.
