8:03 a.m., Sept. 24, 2009----Zoey Call, Ashley Martinez and Michelle Kennedy have been named the Jeanne K. Buxbaum Scholarship recipients for the 2009-10 academic year, it was announced recently by Veronica Rempusheski, Jeanne K. Buxbaum Chair of Nursing Science in the University of Delaware's School of Nursing.

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Jeanne K. Buxbaum is the benefactor of the scholarships, which are awarded to undergraduate and graduate nursing students who demonstrate academic excellence with a sincere interest in older adults or persons experiencing sensory deprivation.

Buxbaum Scholars have an opportunity to work as research assistants with Rempusheski to broaden their research experience in aging and receive hands-on experience in proposed and funded projects and activities.

Zoey Call, a second-year undergraduate student from New Jersey, is pursuing a bachelor of science degree in bursing (BSN).

This past summer, Call successfully completed a three-week home health aide course and was employed as a home health aide for Bayada Home Health Care in Mt. Laurel, N.J.

Call has volunteered at nursing homes since her freshmen year in high school. She attributes these volunteer experiences to her personal growth and sensitivity to the elderly.

Call credits one nursing home resident with giving her a new outlook on caring for older individuals. “By taking me under his wing, he has not only showed me how to communicate better, but also has taught me patience and given me insight into rare and fascinating life stories and memories of each resident,” she says.

“Zoey's enthusiasm and positive perspective on aging frames how she approaches the challenges experienced by older adults,” says Rempusheski.

Ashley Martinez, a second year BSN undergraduate student from Delaware, became interested in gerontology as a result of personal experiences with her four grandparents. She witnessed firsthand the effects of sensory deprivation and happily has assisted with her grandparents' needs.

Martinez has been inspired to choose nursing as a career focus and gerontology as a specialty by her mother who is an intensive care unit nurse at Christiana Hospital.

“Ashley's intellectual curiosity and passion to learn about aging are strong motivators that will lead to her success in the nursing profession,” says Rempusheski.

Michelle Kennedy, a graduate student from Pennsylvania, is pursuing a master of science degree in nursing. She received a BSN from UD in 2008.

Kennedy has been employed as a Registered Nurse at Abington Health Lansdale Hospital in Lansdale, Pa., since September 2008.

Kennedy says that becoming a nurse has always been something that she knew she was meant to do. It was through the time that she spent with her grandmother, who came to live with her family that let her know that gerontology was the concentration that she should pursue. “It was during this time, while in High School, that I developed a new found respect, admiration, and curiosity about older persons,” Kennedy says.

Kennedy says she ultimately hopes to work with the geriatric patient population as a nurse practitioner in a setting that will allow her to assess their needs properly, intervene appropriately, and treat them and their families effectively. Becoming a Buxbaum Scholar will greatly assist with these goals, she says.

“Michelle's attention to detail and research experience as an undergraduate at UD are among the assets she will contribute to our current research studies,” says Rempusheski.

Call, Martinez, and Kennedy join continuing Buxbaum Scholars Jessica Carter, Lisa Fox, and Jessica Page.

Photo by Evan Krape