Five Area High School Students Earn Scholarships from Upland Hills Health

Each year, Upland Hills Health awards two area high school students $500 each, in the form of a scholarship to pursue a healthcare career. For the third year, the Upland Hills Health Foundation stepped in and chose to fund an additional three scholarships. The five recipients for 2023 are Leslie Bartolo Rivera of Iowa Grant High School, Anastacia Glonek of Dodgeville High School, Shelbi Marx of Barneveld High School, Kylie Morrey of River Valley High School, and Alexa Ouradnik of Mount Horeb High School.

Leslie will attend UW-Madison, where she plans to pursue a degree in biology, with the goal of continuing her education to become a physician assistant. In her application, she stated, “I want to go into healthcare because I love helping people and caring for others…I love how in healthcare you get to help people daily and can have such a huge impact on the lives of others…I also just love the science behind the career and how you always keep on learning throughout the years.”

Anastacia also plans to attend UW-Madison for her undergraduate studies, majoring in neurobiology, then advancing to medical school. She has already completed her studies to be a Certified Nursing Assistant and has volunteered at Upland Hills Health in various departments. Anastacia decided early in elementary school when she experienced the death of her biological mother, that she wanted to become a doctor, to help others live longer, healthier lives. She wrote in her application letter, “Since the second grade, everything I have done has been to ensure I get the opportunity to save the lives to those who walk through hospital doors…The medical textbooks stacked high in the corner of my bedroom were the trophies of my past, present and future…Although my mom is no longer physically with me, she has and will always continue to guide me every step of the way on my journey to becoming a physician.”

Shelbi has been accepted to Blackhawk Technical College with plans to pursue a degree in diagnostic medical sonography. Her

decision to enter a healthcare career was influenced by her parents’ careers in healthcare, and her experiences with her grandmother receiving medical care. Shelbi noted in her application letter, “Watching my grandmother’s medical care and seeing the many healthcare specialist care for her was very inspirational for me, and it confirmed for me that a healthcare career was what I wanted to do.” Shelbi earned her Certified Nursing Assistant certificate while in high school and worked at the Upland Hills Health Nursing and Rehab Center. She also completed multiple job shadows to determine which direction she will take on her path to becoming an ultrasound technician.

Kylie will attend UW-Oshkosh and major in biology/pre-med. She currently works as a Certified Nursing Assistant in an assisted living and memory care facility. Kylie was inspired young to pursue her healthcare career goals. “One of the first toys I

remember having was a pink plastic doctor’s kit…I would dress up in my mom’s hand-me-down scrubs and perform countless exams on my parents and younger sister…I continued this love over the course of my high school career, taking almost every science class available.” Kylie’s overall goal is to earn her medical degree and open a medical clinic in a rural area where it is needed.

Alexa plans to earn her bachelor’s degree in biology on a pre-med track at UW-Madison. Her path to a healthcare career, particularly to pursuing a career as a physician, was influenced by her childhood doctor’s impact on her family. After seeing her mother’s tears upon learning of this pediatrician’s death, Alexa wrote in her scholarship letter, “I realized…I wanted to care for people in a way that I could stir the type of emotional response in them that Dr. Allen had in my mother. I had always

admired my doctor. She was selfless. She constantly provided health care to people and served her community, regardless of location or payment she was receiving. She had a real impact on people, not one determined through money or awards, but through real people and families she helped…my commitment to helping others is a driving force that constantly leads me into new ways to be of service.”

Other scholarships available through Upland Hills Health and in partnership with Southwest Wisconsin Technical College, can be found at uplandhillshealth.org/scholarships.