How Receiving a PA Foundation Scholarship Helped Me

2019 Recipients Share What Their Award Meant to Them

The PA Foundation has awarded over $2.3 million in scholarship funding to PA students, benefitting more than 1,400 future PAs. The second cycle, opening June 15, will award 22 scholarships in six different scholarship categories, ranging from $1,000 to $2,500.

New this year, the Foundation is offering two scholarship cycles based on applicants’ anticipated PA school graduation month. The second cycle – for applicants with a July-December graduation date – will open June 15.

We asked several 2019 scholarship recipients to share what receiving a scholarship from the Foundation meant to them.

Apply Now for Second Cycle PA Foundation Student Scholarships

“This scholarship represents a validation of my commitment to rural primary care in Indian Health. Navajo- or Inuit-American families who live remotely, continuing the pastoral or hunter-gatherer tradition of their ancestors, should not have to sacrifice access to primary care. There are some incredible organizations out there that are working to bridge this divide; many of them eager to have PAs. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work in such a setting in the future, and this scholarship makes me more flexible to do so. Thank you.”
– Conor Cahalan, Emory University

“I am so grateful to have been selected to receive the NCCPA Endowed Scholarship. In the PA profession, diversity is essential to ensure that minority group patients are better understood and have improved health outcomes. As cross-cultural care becomes more prominent in the ever-diversifying United States, it is more important now than ever that clinicians come from many different backgrounds in order to deliver culturally sensitive, high-quality care to all patients. By offering the NCCPA Endowed Scholarship to underrepresented minority, economically disadvantaged, and educationally disadvantaged students, the PA Foundation is working toward ensuring diversity among the PA profession. To me, receiving this scholarship is a reminder of how I will help to be an advocate for Latino patients who may not be as well understood by some healthcare providers. I am honored to be chosen as one of the recipients of a scholarship which supports healthcare professional diversity.”
– Stephanie Cyphers, Case Western Reserve University

[Learn more about the available PA student scholarships and apply today!]

“Receiving the PA Foundation Scholarship validates my motivation to become a PA. I am training to become a PA to provide much needed medical services to underserved populations, particularly low-income immigrant communities. Being born in Brazil and spending my formative years in Koreatown, Los Angeles, has given me tremendous exposure to diversity. My parents only speak Korean and Portuguese, which has made it difficult for them to assimilate to the American workforce and culture. Unsurprisingly, accessing healthcare for my parents has been similarly challenging. The American healthcare system is confusing to navigate, but even more so for non-English speakers, such as my parents. The goal to one day address this access disparity is what drives me to become an empathetic healthcare professional. This scholarship helps me achieve this goal and supports me as I devote my skills to underserved communities.”
– Linda Lee, California Baptist University

[PAs Benefit From Foundation Scholarships]

“I am extremely grateful to those who have taught and mentored me. I am so lucky for their dedication to education. So far during my clinical rotations, I feel like I am already making a difference in the lives of others and feel even more passionate about my path of becoming a PA-C. Receiving this scholarship award reinforces my goals of being someone in the PA profession who advocates for wellness and resilience in the medical community for the betterment of our patients and ourselves. I am motivated to continue that work beyond my education, and I am incredibly grateful to the AAPA, PA Foundation, and others that made this scholarship award possible.”
– Dylan Menefee, University of Evansville

“I am honored and grateful to have been awarded a PA Foundation scholarship, as it brings me one step closer to realizing my dreams. I am a first-generation college student and am happy to be a positive role model for others in my family and home community. This scholarship will give me financial freedom to help pay for educational expenses and will allow me to better concentrate on my studies. The generosity of donors to the PA Foundation is greatly appreciated.”
– Anel Vanessa Tamayo, California State University, Monterey Bay

Are you passionate about PA leadership and service? Don’t miss your chance to apply for a PA Foundation scholarship to help ease the financial burden of your PA education. View the eligibility criteria and submit your application by August 14.

More Resources
2020 PA Student Scholarship Applications
About the PA Foundation
PAs Benefit From Foundation Scholarships