DONOR DOLLARS AT WORK: Kaylee Heisler, Nursing

By Jana Garvie Lindley

Northwestern senior Kaylee Heisler, Waukomis, Okla., will graduate in 2023, having benefitted from valuable scholarship dollars utilized during her college career.

“Knowing someone else cares enough to invest in the well-being of students pursuing a lifelong education is very inspiring,” Heisler said. “I have loved being at Northwestern. The staff is always very friendly and encouraging -- specifically the nursing staff. They are there to help in any way possible, push us even further, and encourage us to be our best.”

Heisler chose nursing as her major because she has always loved helping others.

“The medical field is a thriving industry that will always need nurses. I love being able to impact others’ lives, and what better way than when it comes to their health.”

Planning to be a registered nurse on the Labor and Delivery floor at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center, Heisler also considers becoming a Nurse Practitioner in the future.

Allen L. Wilson discovered the significance of education while pursuing his Social Science degree at Northwestern. The personal attention he received from his professors made a difference in his education. Upon graduation, Allen received his graduate degree in Psychology and worked as a vocational rehabilitator in Tulsa. His wife, Carolyn, has a heart for people which is evident in her career choice. She graduated from St. Mary’s School of Radiology as a radiological technologist.

The Doris Ferguson Nursing Scholarship was established in 2011. Doris Ferguson was born in Ellinwood, Kansas, and attended nursing school at Emmanual Hospital (now Legacy Emanuel Medical Center) in Portland, Ore. She graduated with a bachelor’s in Public Health Nursing from the University of Oregon. She earned a master’s degree in Public Health in 1955 from Simmons College and Harvard School of Public Health. Ferguson came to Oklahoma following her marriage to Gerald Ferguson in 1985, and her undeniable qualifications brought her to Northwestern, where she taught and later served as dean of nursing.

The purpose of the Dr. H. Leland Steffen Medical Scholarship is to provide financial assistance to Northwestern Oklahoma State University students seeking healthcare-related degrees, preferably pre-med or nursing. Dr. H. Leland Steffen graduated from Northwestern in 1950, and his wife, Carol, graduated in 1947. While their graduation dates are finite, their love and appreciation for Northwestern spanned a lifetime.