Testimonials

Janice Pazderny RN

“In 2001, after 26 years in the oilfield & automobile industry, my journey in the medical field began as a clerk in the emergency room of Scott & White Hospital - Brenham. After two years of working closely with the nurses and doctors of the ER, I applied for and received a scholarship from Scott & White Hospital - Brenham Foundation and successfully completed the Licensed Vocational Nursing program at Blinn College.

Providing quality patient care requires continuing education and hard work. Feeling deeply the duty and responsibility to expand my knowledge base and sharpen my skills, in 2008 I applied for and received a second scholarship to attend the Registered Nursing program at Blinn College.

I am grateful to the Scott & White Hospital - Brenham Foundation for their support. Being a Registered Nurse enables me to provide both the physical and mental positive support crucial to my patients during their times of illness. It is the most rewarding job I have ever done and I am blessed to serve my community.”

Nancy Witt

Exerpt from Banner Press Article appearing in 2007 and featuring nurses that completed the scholarship program.

Lives are changed and healthcare careers are jumpstarted each year by scholarships provided by Scott & White Hospital - Brenham Foundation.

Each year the Foundation funds scholarships for area residents interested in pursuing healthcare careers in nursing, radiology and other health fields.

Nancy Witt, began her healthcare career as a Licensed Vocational Nurse. 

“Although I had already started back to school on my own, I became faced with a diagnosis of cancer and the unexpected loss of my husband,” Witt said.

“The support I received from Scott & White Hospital - Brenham during this time lifted me spiritually and emotionally and I will always be grateful for the wonderful, caring staff at the hospital,” she said.

Witt said she thought that going back to school would be difficult.

“When Beth Teverbaugh, (Med/Surg director) encouraged me to continue in school, I could not see how that would be possible financially,” Witt said. “She urged me to apply for a scholarship, and when I received it, there was no doubt that somehow everything would work out.”

It did work out. Aside from receiving scholarship money for tuition and books, Witt was able to keep working at Scott & White Hospital - Brenham on a special work/study basis.

“It helped me to know that many of my co-workers were supporting me through sharing knowledge, words of encouragement and through prayer,” Witt said. “And, yes, Scott & White Hospital - Brenham is a praying hospital with a lot of awesome 'prayer warriors.'”

The hospital also offered support in other ways, Witt said.

“They juggled work schedules to accommodate my school schedule,” she said. “In retrospect, a difficult time became a easier with the help and support of the hospital.”

Becoming an RN was beneficial to Witt's growth as a nurse.

“Nursing is an art, a craft and a science,” Witt said. “LVN school focuses on the 'craft' - the bedside care. In RN school, I learned the art of critical thinking, the science of disease and healing, and how to expand the craft through application of this knowledge.”

Witt said that since much of medicine focuses on prevention and patient education, she became better equipped as an RN to teach her patients and assist them in making healthful choices.

Brianne Buerger

 "I went to school for a total of four years which includes my pre-requisites for nursing school and four semesters of nursing school.  I started college at Blinn right out of high school because I realized how important getting an education was to me and I knew it would help me get a good job.  I knew I wanted to be a nurse ever since I was a freshman in high school.  My grandmother had cancer and I remember helping my mother take care of her.  That was when I realized that I enjoy taking care of other people and doing what I can to help make them feel better.  Receiving a scholarship from the hospital has made my dream of becoming a nurse possible.  Not only was I given a job right out of school, but they also helped pay for the cost of school.  This helped me tremendously because college is very expensive and I could use all the help I could get to stay as much out of debt as possible.  Also, towards the end of the nursing program, I was more able to focus on my school work and graduation than my classmated because I already had a job lined up.  This was very helpful because I was under a lot of stress with school and finding a joby was one less thing I had on my to-do list.  Now I am a Registered Nurse making money doing what I love.  Every day I go to work I help others that need me, and that is very rewarding to know."