A passionate vocational nursing student at American Career College-Orange County, Alexis Bennett was committed to mental health advocacy, support for vulnerable populations, and care for the underserved.
“We were friends,” said her classmate Tattyanna F. when asked about Alexis. “We sat next to each other in class, and she was always so kind to me. We would talk about our passion for mental health, and we even had plans to attend West Coast University together.”
In a heartwarming ceremony, Tattyanna was awarded the inaugural Alexis Bennett Memorial Scholarship from the L.O.R.M.A.R Brandman Foundation and the American Career College Educational Foundation.
The memorial scholarship was created to provide financial assistance to ACC-Orange County vocational nursing students and was first opened to those in Alexis’ cohort. A committee made up of a representative from the L.O.R.M.A.R. Brandman Foundation and leaders from American Career College selected Tattyana as the scholarship’s first recipient.
“This scholarship pushes me to try harder and finish because now I don’t have a reason to worry about school and work. I can just focus on school,” Tattyanna shared.
A dedicated student, Tattyanna said she struggled to balance full-time studies at ACC and a full-time job working double shifts as a certified nursing assistant.
“I was basically living at work,” she said. “But it’s such a relief off my shoulders after today. It means so much to me that I can just focus on my dream of becoming a nurse.”
The first in her family to attend college, Tattyanna is committed to continuing her education and honoring Alexis’s memory by enrolling in West Coast University’s bachelor of science in nursing program after graduating from ACC.
“I will make my grandma proud, and I will help my mom and all my future patients one day after becoming a nurse,” Tattyanna said.
