Editor's Note: This article was provided by the NEF organization and edited accordingly.

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) student Whitney Thornton has been awarded a scholarship from the Nurses Educational Funds, Inc. (NEF). The NEF’s mission is to promote leadership through scholarship support for professional nurses seeking master’s and doctoral degrees in nursing education, practice, research, administration, and health policy.

Thornton is currently earning her MSN from the Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner – Primary Care (AGNP-PC) program, in addition to a Veterans Health Care Specialty certificate. Her interest in nursing was confirmed through helping her mother take care of her paternal and maternal grandfathers when they were diagnosed with cancer.

“From the moment my paternal grandmother placed a nurse playset in my hands at the age of 3, I knew nursing was the profession I wanted to pursue,” she said. “As I matured, my main attraction to the profession was the fact that nurses seek knowledge and understanding in all their endeavors, which stands to reason why they are the backbone of the health care system. Though my journey has involved a detour into public health, I never lost sight of my destination.”

Thornton wants to serve adolescents, adults, and geriatric patients, and their families, as a clinician in rural areas, much like the bucolical setting in which she grew up, in addition to working with veterans — a passion that stems from her maternal grandfather, great-grandfather, and uncle having served in the armed forces. She wants to be the type of provider that participates in a team approach to all aspects of patient care, with the patient at the center.

NEF is one of the largest nonprofit, professionally endorsed sources of scholarships for graduate nursing studies in the U.S. NEF-funded scholars become outstanding faculty and deans of schools of nursing, renowned researchers and expert administrators – all leading change in every arena across the country and globally. For more information, visit https://www.n-e-f.org/