By FHSU University Communications
HAYS, Kan. –“Overwhelmed with thankfulness” is how Julina Wall Schmeeckle felt the day she discovered she had been chosen as a Schmidt Foundation Scholar. A member of the first cohort of Schmidt Foundation Scholars, Julina has the distinction of being the first Schmidt Scholar to graduate from FHSU, completing her degree in only 3 ½ years. Julina attained her educational milestone when she graduated in December with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
“I’ve had a nursing career on my mind since I can remember,” she said. “I had heard that Fort Hays had a really good nursing program. It was an option I wanted to look at, but being a first-generation college student, I knew college would have to be paid for on my own.”
Julina found a potential opportunity to fund her dream when, halfway through her senior year at Ingalls High School, she received an email from the Schmidt Foundation outlining the requirements for its full-ride scholarship. After realizing she met the qualifications and filling out the application, she landed in the top 20 applicants and interviewed via Zoom. Some time passed after the interview, so Julina prepared a fallback plan to attend Garden City Community College, just in case she didn’t receive the Schmidt Foundation scholarship.
However, one April afternoon, over the intercom at school, seniors were asked to meet in the office before going to lunch. When she entered the room, she saw her mother. The faculty asked Julina to sit at the front of the room facing a TV screen. Soon, Jessica Albin, chair of the Schmidt Foundation Scholars Committee, appeared on the screen, notifying Julina that she had been awarded a Schmidt Foundation scholarship.
“I was in shock,” Julina said. “I broke down. My whole plans changed, and I was going to Hays. I wouldn’t be walking across the stage here in Hays with my nursing degree without that (Schmidt Foundation) opportunity.”
Five Schmidt Scholars have been chosen each year since the scholarship’s inception in 2021. Preference for these scholarships is given to first-generation students from Kansas planning to major in healthcare, education, business, entrepreneurship, arts, or communication programs. The scholarship includes 30 hours of tuition and fees for fall and spring courses, books, and room and board. Once accepted, recipients can renew their scholarship for up to three additional years by maintaining their academic standing and continuing to meet the scholarship requirements.
Julina credits her family and husband, Brady, who she married last summer, with providing the foundation of support that enabled her to complete her degree in just 3 ½ years.
“Nursing school is stressful, but my husband and family have been incredibly supportive,” she said. “I’m a first-generation college student, and they are thrilled that I’m seeking education. Growing up my parents didn’t get that experience, but really hoped that their kids would have the opportunity.”
Jessica Albin, through her role as chair of the scholarship committee, became acquainted with Julina during her years as an undergrad. Jessica speaks glowingly of Julina, saying that she “has been a standout student during her entire journey at FHSU.”
“If you asked her to accomplish something, you could consider it done,” Jessica said. “Julina’s character is as strong as her skills and abilities. She is just a solid person through and through and her family ought to be proud for raising such a poised, beautiful, and competent young woman.”
“She demonstrated strength by being willing to ask for help when she needed it, and she never missed a chance to say, ‘thank you.’”
What does the future hold for Julina? She said she plans to put her nursing skills to work at the Garden City Hospital in the labor and delivery department, where she recently completed her capstone internship.
In addition to her nursing career, Julina, who ran a swather for a local hay farmer during high school, helps on her husband's and his family’s farm.
“Working in the hay business taught me patience and how to ask others for help,” she said. “Now I’m adjusting to the farm wife life.”