Beginning in 2015, the Portage Health Foundation and Michigan Tech embarked on a partnership established to support health-related research and education, jobs, and community health. The Making a Difference Award is a scholarship for students from the areas nearest Michigan Tech: Baraga, Houghton, Keweenaw, and Ontonagon counties. These efforts to make college affordable and attainable are key to the Foundation's strategic efforts to positively affect the health of the region.
Recipients of the awards are asked to remain in good academic standing within a health-focused area of study, serve as a mentor for future PHF scholars, and, in the case of larger scholarship amounts, participate in community service events that promote health and wellbeing. That can mean helping at events with the Center for Student Mental Health and Wellbeing, volunteering with the Husky Food Access Network (FAN), or becoming involved with senior support in the community. The Foundation also encourages a wide range of approaches to choosing a major that can have positive impacts in the health space; not everyone need choose Medical Laboratory Science or Human Biology.
To date, 60 unique students have been awarded a total of $334,395 from the Portage Health Foundation - many of those students also received matching funds from Michigan Tech, making the total financial impact of this partnership over $500,000.
In my field of study, I learn about the physiology of the human body, how to perform and interpret results of body fluid testing, and to identify when a macroscopic or microscopic difference within the human body calls for emergency testing to ensure the health of the patient. Not only do I use this knowledge on a day-to-day basis working as a Certified Nursing Assistant in our local hospital, but I will continue to learn and utilize this knowledge as I venture on to medical school, where I plan to specialize in cardiovascular surgery.
-Jillian C., Senior