Times were tough for Tia Agboruche, BSN ’14, during her undergraduate years. While working to make ends meet, her car broke down and she was unable to afford the repairs.

“I was working as a CNA while in nursing school and had to take two buses to get there,” she recalled. “The scholarship support I received allowed me to take care of my expenses and necessities.”

As an ACCESS Program student and recipient of the William G. Stuckle and Marion E. Stuckle Scholarship, donor support is what fueled Agboruche’s dream of becoming a nurse. At a young age, she admired the nurses who cared for her family members, often spending hours on end in the hospital.

“My grandma had pancreatic cancer and used to call me ‘her little nurse’,” she continued. “My dad also had heart disease, so I spent a lot of time around nurses – the hospital felt like home.”

Since receiving her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree from the college, her impact on patients has stretched across the country; having cared for critical care patients in four states thus far.

Recently, Agboruche became a certified registered nurse anesthetist, and will be serving those in her community of the metro Detroit, Mich., area. Though seven years have passed since her time walking through the Bott Nursing Building, she remains thankful for the donor support she received.

“It helped me get to this point and I appreciate the opportunity they’ve given me,” she said. “I hope I can one day be that person.”