Cypress Cove at HealthPark Florida’s staff scholarship committee recently awarded 15 educational scholarships for the Fall 2019 academic term to employees and dependents of the South Fort Myers Life Plan community.

The recent scholar selections bring the number of employees who have been chosen as scholarship recipients to 32 since the program began in Fall 2017. Of those 32 Cypress Cove scholars, 12 employees have since graduated from their higher education studies.

The recent awards included six legal dependents of Cypress Cove employees. Earlier this year, the resident-led employee scholarship committee approved the eligibility of qualified employee dependents for scholarship award consideration.

This Fall’s scholarship class, according to the Life Care community’s Philanthropy Specialist Allen Abbott, includes the program’s first mother-daughter scholarship recipients Nancie Gaspard (a certified nursing assistant at The Lodge) and her daughter Sergine Gaspard (pictured below). There are five returning and four new employee recipients included in this year’s scholarship fund class.

Seven of the recipients have been awarded specific named scholarships. They are:

Shantae Gayle of Dining Services is recipient of the Marcia Goldberg and Judy Papier Scholarship;

Nadee-Sheena Joseph, daughter of Cottage employee Carille Brutus is recipient of the Donna Miceli Scholarship;

Tatiana Pierre of The Cottage is recipient of the Sheppard Memorial Scholarship;

Jyra Safford of Dining Services is recipient of the Don and Jane King Scholarship;

Kimberly Scott, MDS Coordinator at The Lodge is recipient of the Jack G. Brown Scholarship;

Michael St. Hilaire, LPN at The Inn is recipient of the Perry and Susan Ahrens Scholarship;

Amanda Sweeney, Activities Supervisor in independent living is recipient of the Lyle and Audrey Olson Scholarship.

Rasmussen College, Florida Southwestern State College, and Florida Gulf Coast University were selected as the schools of choice among the 15 scholarship recipients.

Others selected as Fall scholarship recipients include Dapheline Joselin, daughter of Yverose Jocelin a CNA at The Lodge; Abigayle Pierre, daughter of Dietary Aide Marjorie Saintheard; Olivia Taylor, daughter of Move-In Coordinator Lauren Taylor; Line Cook Travis Whiddon; Jeff Cassamajor, son of Denis Cassamajor who is a CNA at The Lodge; and Paul Denova, an LPN at The Lodge.

First-time scholarship recipients receive $2,000 toward their education while employees having previously received scholarship program assistance were awarded $1,000.

Nancie Gaspard, a Certified Nursing Assistant for The Lodge at Cypress Cove with her daughter Sergine (left). The mother-daughter pair were recently named scholarship award recipients at the HealthPark Florida Life Plan community. They are two of 15 employees and dependents of employees from Cypress Cove that were selected to receive academic scholarships for the 2019 Fall school term. Nancie is attending Florida Southwestern State College majoring in respiratory care and daughter Sergine is majoring in health science at Florida Gulf Coast University.