UMO Student Wins Great 100 Nurses Scholarship
UMO Student Wins Great 100 Nurses Scholarship
The Great 100 Nurses, which promotes nursing excellence in North Carolina, has recognized University of Mount Olive RN to BSN student Rhonda Mazejka as one of the 2016 Great 100 Nurses.
This non-profit organization creates peer recognition among North Carolina’s registered nurses, as well as awards excellence in practice and commitment to the nursing profession. Mazejka was awarded with a scholarship of $2,000. Scholarship recipients are selected by the School of Nursing based on students’ scholastic achievement, character, and contribution to the nursing profession.
Mazejka earned an associate’s degree from Alamance Community College and later enrolled in the RN to BSN program at the UMO in August of 2014.
“My professors at UMO have greatly benefitted my academics and have pushed me to improve as a nurse. My academic advisor and nursing professor Dr. Joy Kieffer first told me about the scholarship, and I was elated and surprised when I found out that I won,” Mazejka recalled. “I am honored to have been chosen and very appreciative. Having this scholarship means that I will also be able to financially seek higher education in nursing.”
While maintaining a near perfect GPA of 3.97 at UMO, Mazejka also works as a nursing supervisor of the gastroenterology department at Kernodle Clinic, where she is the head of the clinic’s code team and is actively involved in the clinic’s safety. In the future, she hopes to attend graduate school and become a nurse educator.
“I have recently submitted an application for the online MSN program at UMO to further my nursing education! I hope to continue my academic journey with UMO and then share my knowledge to nursing students by providing education on new developments and changes in patient care,” smiled Mazejka.
Mazejka resides in Burlington and is a member of Center United Methodist Church. She has three grown children, Nick Mazejka (29), Callie Mazejka (23), and Jesse Mazejka (20).
The University of Mount Olive is a private institution rooted in the liberal arts tradition with defining Christian values. The University, sponsored by the Convention of Original Free Will Baptists, has locations in Mount Olive, New Bern, Wilmington, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Research Triangle Park, Washington, Jacksonville, and in Smithfield at Johnston Community College. For more information, visit old.umo.edu.