Winner Of $2500 Service Scholarship Announced By Braly Scholarship Committee

Dallas, GA –the S.U. Braly Scholarship Committee is pleased to announce the 2018 service scholarship recipient. The recipient is Oluronke Akinrolabu of Dallas. Oluronke is receiving $2500 to pursue a nursing degree to become a Registered Nurse. She is currently employed at WellStar Paulding Nursing and Rehab Center since 2014, working 12-hour shifts on weekends as a Certified Nursing Assistant and is now in her senior year at Chamberlain University in Atlanta.
Oluronke plans to work at WellStar Paulding after completing her program and will, therefore, be able to repay her scholarship through service following graduation, receiving $100/month credit with full-time employment. Oluronke states that she has “always been interested in healthcare” because it is her “passion to help and care for people, especially in their greatest time of need”. Her supervisor says that she has demonstrated “exemplary devotion to and knowledge of her job, been honest, reliable and compassionate, very dedicated and enthusiastic in her endeavor to become a registered nurse while overcoming many personal obstacles”. The Education Manager at the Center reports that Oluronke is “dependable and provides excellent care to any assignment given, that she is a quick learner, eager to learn new skills and serves as a leader and preceptor to students and new employees”.
The Braly Scholarship Fund was launched in 1982 in memory of the late Samuel U. Braly who died July 4, 1978. At the time of his death, many Paulding County residents donated money instead of sending flowers to start this fund. Although the county felt a tremendous loss, his legacy continues through the Braly Scholarship Fund. The Braly Scholarship Program is designed to help those who want to serve Paulding County in a health career in positions needed at WellStar Paulding Hospital and/or Nursing Center. A scholarship may be repaid through service after graduation. The fund is sustained through fundraisers, contributions, and donations in honor or in memory of loved ones. Scholarship applicants are considered based on financial need, the potential for completing their field of study and willingness to pursue a health career that would benefit Paulding County through service. Applications for the service scholarship are accepted between January and April each year.
The Braly Scholarship committee is comprised of members of Dr. Braly's family, community friends, and employees at the hospital where Doctor Braly served for twenty years. Current members include Sam Braly, Raymond Moody, Genevieve Cole, Joyce Hulsey, Robin Ragsdale, Barbara Cooper Ragsdale, Donna Mikeal, Becky King, Rhonda Payne, Imogene Nelson, Carol O’Connell, Pat Pace, Vickie Jones, and Jane Ragsdale.
Again, the fund is sustained through donations, memorials, and fundraisers, such as the patio sale at the WellStar Paulding Nursing and Rehab Center, spearheaded by Imogene Nelson, Nursing Center employee. Donations and memorials are tax-deductible and are encouraged to be made to honor or in memory of someone, especially those who appreciate healthcare workers and persons who support Paulding County—its healthcare and jobs/careers in Paulding County. Instead of flowers, a memorial given to this fund is a wonderful way to remember a loved one and the loving service of Dr. Braly, who served this county for so many years.
Donation checks should be made out to “Community Foundation of Paulding” with a note that it is for the Braly Scholarship Fund . It can be given to any of the Braly Committee Members (listed above) or mailed to Joyce Hulsey or Carol O’Connell at WellStar Paulding Nursing and Rehab Center, 600 W. Memorial Drive, Dallas, GA, 30132