Dina Salvatore, 28, is a registered nurse, new mother, and full-time graduate student. She is the winner of a GetEducated.com $1,000 Excellence in Online Education Scholarship and will use the free grant toward her Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree from the Frontier School of Midwifery & Family Nursing.
Residing on a small island in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Salvatore recognized a shortage of healthcare providers and found inspiration to pursue her bachelors and masters degrees in nursing. Through education and volunteering opportunities, she has advocated various health-related causes, including the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAN) and The March of Dimes.
These experiences have confirmed Salvatore’s passion for healthcare and they continue to propel her dream toward becoming a nurse practitioner. “My enthusiasm and motivation to learn, coupled with my solid nursing experience and academic achievements, fuel my belief that I will thrive in this profession,” explains Salvatore.
She continues, “My objective with this degree is to provide diligent healthcare and added medical services to my community, focusing largely on health promotion and disease prevention.”
During her undergraduate studies, Salvatore served as the Class President of her practical nursing class, which found her a position on the Board of Directors for the Massachusetts Student Nurses Association (MASNA). Salvatore also served as a contributing author and reviewer for medical publishers Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins (LWW), as well as the Editorial Advisory Board for the Advance for Nurses – New England regional nursing magazine.
Now involved with her graduate studies, Salvatore is currently finishing research on postpartum depression (PPD). She has been developing an early PPD screening tool, with the hopes that it will help decrease the incidence of PPD.
Salvatore chose to attend the Frontier School of Midwifery & Family Nursing for several reasons. In order to reach any nearby post-secondary institutions, she must travel by ferry or by plane. Excursions off of the island also require advance reservations. Attending a residential college was not an option for Salvatore.
She says, “In addition, I am a new mom and still nursing my child throughout the day; distance learning allows me to continue forth with my education, while still providing full-time care and sustenance to my son.”
Salvatore researched the online graduate nursing courses at Frontier before enrolling in the program. She spoke with several Frontier alumni, who said they valued the curriculum and felt well-prepared to begin their practice after graduation.
Once she has graduated with her MSN degree, Salvatore wishes to work at the island’s Rural Health Clinic. She says, “I will aspire to truly make a difference in the lives of my patients and embrace them with respect and admiration. I will continue to support health-related causes, dedicating my time and energy to advocate for public benefit.”
GetEducated.com offers free college scholarships and grants to online students bi-annually in the spring and fall. The deadlines for these distance learning scholarships are March 15 and October 15.
Online College Scholarship Resources
GetEducated.com Online Education Scholarship Program
Best Online Education & Distance Learning Scholarships
GetEducated.com Free Online Scholarships for Core 4 Women Members
The Best Online College Grant and Free Money Financial Aid Programs
Working Mom of Three Receives $1,000 Online College Scholarship