SMH Foundation Awards Thousands in Health Career Scholarships

SMH Foundation Awards Thousands in Health Career Scholarships

Thursday, May 25, 2023

The Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation awarded scholarships this month to five outstanding local high school students who plan to pursue careers in health care. The G. Duncan Finlay Health Careers Scholarships and The Heather G. Miller Health Careers Scholarship help ensure that health care providers can continue delivering the highest quality of care for years to come. Each student will receive up to $10,000 to help offset the cost of college tuition and expenses over the next four years.

For 30 years, the health careers scholarships have provided $773,750 to 166 high school seniors, and are critical as the demand for health care professionals grows each year.

This year’s recipients of the G. Duncan Finlay Scholarships included (front row from left):

  • Zechariah Riddle of North Port High School, who plans to attend Florida Atlantic University to pursue a degree in Nursing.
  • Kara Parsotan of North Port High School, who plans to attend University of Massachusetts Boston to pursue a Pre-Med degree.
  • Scarlett Ochoa-Conde, dually enrolled at Sarasota High School and the Suncoast Technical College LPN program, who plans to attend State College of Florida to pursue a degree in Nursing.
  • Paxton Barrick of Venice High School, who plans to attend University of Florida to pursue a degree in Physical Therapy.

This year's recipient of the Heather G. Miller Scholarship was Mitchell Dominguez, front row at right, a senior at Booker High School who plans to attend State College of Florida to pursue a degree in Nursing.

Back row pictured from left are SMH-Venice President Sharon Roush; Heather G. Miller, Ph.D.; former Sarasota Memorial CEO G. Duncan Finlay, MD; SMH-Sarasota President Lorrie Liang; Sarasota County Public Hospital Board member Sharon Wetzler DePeters, ARNP; and Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation President Stacey Corley.

About the Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation: For over 45 years, the Healthcare Foundation has provided meaningful grants to enhance patient care, facilities, technology, and to support clinical education and medical research.