Bolingbrook Rotary Presents JJC Nursing Students With Scholarships

Two Joliet Junior College nursing students were recently presented scholarships from the Bolingbrook Rotary Club. This year’s recipients of the Robert F. Blumenstein Memorial Scholarships went to nursing students amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Students Terrence Lopez and Kodua Aikins, both from Bolingbrook, were presented $1,500 and $1,000 checks, respectively, during a ceremony May 9.

Lopez took time during the ceremony to thank the rotary and frontline healthcare workers, including his wife, who works at a hospital.

“She sacrifices her health to take care of others, and I am so proud of her for that. Because of this it has led me to take weeks off of work to take care of our 1-year-old son,” he said. “This scholarship is a blessing, and I’m so thankful and grateful.”

For Aikins, the funding came at a perfect time.

“Just a day before I received the phone call informing my winning, I was pondering over how I was going to come up with funds for my books for the fall and there I received that great news,” he said.

“I am very grateful to the Bolingbrook Rotary for thinking about our nursing students and wanting to assist them in their educational journeys,” said Dr. Mary Beth Luna, JJC Nursing program chair. “Many of our students struggle with financial obstacles on their way to becoming registered nurses, so any assistance is greatly appreciated.”

The Robert F. Blumenstein Memorial Scholarship has supported students for 25 years ago, according to Ken McConnaughay, a Bolingbrook Rotary Club member who serves on its scholarship committee.

Collectively, the Bolingbrook Rotary Club has been awarding scholarships to high school seniors and college students from the village for 45 years. McConnaughay said to date nearly $1 million in funding has been distributed.

For media inquiries, contact Communications and Media Coordinator Scott Harvey at sharvey@jjc.edu.