Foundation helps to make career dream come true
A lifelong dream became a reality when Jaquella Pritchett returned to college to study
nursing.
“I had saved and prepared for this opportunity, and I was not going to take it for granted,” she said, noting that she paid for her first year of student in Meridian Community College’s Associate Degree Nursing Program. “I knew my second year was going to be challenging financially,” she added.
“I had to quit my job to continue nursing school. I continued to pray and trust in the Lord,” Pritchett said. She applied and received for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) grant, but it didn’t cover the entire cost.
“God sent the Women’s Foundation of Mississippi to assist with paying for the rest of my tuition,” Pritchett said.
The Women’s Foundation is a public grant-making foundation focused on funding programs that support women and girls across the state. MCC received a $25,000 grant from the foundation that’s earmarked for female students supporting a child.
The foundation also helped Pritchett with gas cards and childcare and preparing to take the NCLEX, the National Council Licensure Examination.
Pritchett, who received her associate of applied science degree from the College’s ADN program, said, “I am forever grateful for the organization and what it is doing to help individuals like myself achieve their goals and dreams.”