Pursuing dreams can be difficult, especially when you are young and money isn’t readily on hand. For Colleton County High School graduate Rylee Chandler, receiving MUSC’s first-generation student scholarship will allow her to continue to follow her dream of becoming a registered nurse.
Originally from Beaufort, Ms. Chandler and her family moved to Colleton County when she was 12. Her mother Eve is a local small farmer and her dad Brian works in construction. After graduating from Colleton County High School, she attended Coastal Carolina University and graduated in December 2022. She then worked for about a year and she took that time to figure out exactly what her plan was and she began attending MUSC at the downtown campus. She felt a little overwhelmed initially at MUSC due to the downtown location and size of the campus, but ultimately, she settled in. Chandler has three more semesters left and then she will have earned her Bachelor in Nursing. She is currently in clinicals and has been working in the hospital liver transplant floor and has her own patients, and she has enjoyed it a great deal. In addition to her studies, Ms. Chandler works at Urgent Care as a medical scribe. Rylee shared she may want to continue her education to become a nurse practitioner, but first she wants to work as a RN before she makes any decisions. As for specializing, she considers wanting to work with children or in women’s health, but as with many things nothing is set in stone.
The first generation student scholarship Chandler received from MUSC is very helpful toward her studies. “The scholarship definitely means a lot. It relieves a lot of financial stress that I would have been having if I didn’t receive the scholarship, so I’m grateful for that.” Rylee received an award of $23,433 from the First Scholarship program. This program is an initiative that supports students who may come from rural and underserved areas. The scholarship, established as an endowment, includes $3.5 million in state funds and a $3.5 million match from MUSC leadership. The funding marks the first time that the South Carolina Legislature has awarded funds to support MUSC’s first-generation students.
Eight MUSC students were selected by their college deans based on the following criteria:
Must be the first in their family to attend college.
Must be a South Carolina resident.
Must have attended high school in South Carolina.
Must demonstrate a financial need.
Must be in good academic standing.
Ms. Chandler comments, “The scholarship helps me financially, but it also helps me focus more on my studies, so I that can become an awesome nurse,” Chandler said. “I hope one day that I can create a safe environment – emotionally as well as physically – for the patients who are in a vulnerable situation and provide high-quality care. I hope I can learn all that at MUSC.”
Congratulations to Rylee Chandler on all that she has accomplished and will accomplish in the future.
