$1M Scholarship Gift to School of Nursing Provides Loan Relief for Dozens of Georgetown Students
(November 8, 2024) — This fall, Georgetown University’s School of Nursing welcomed its inaugural cohort of Conway Scholars, recipients of loan-relieving scholarships made possible by a $1 million commitment over four years from the Bedford Falls Foundation, a private foundation established by the Carlyle Group co-founder and co-chairman William “Bill” E. Conway, Jr., and his late wife, Joanne Barkett Conway. The donation is the largest single gift to undergraduate scholarships in the history of the School of Nursing.
Pictured right: Conway Scholar Luke Schreifels (N’25)
Since the School of Nursing’s founding in 1903, it has educated the health workforce in the Jesuit tradition while championing innovation and transformational nursing leadership. Through the Bedford Falls Foundation gift, the school will be able to deepen that commitment by opening up an affordable pathway to the nursing profession.
The Conway Scholarship enables eligible Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students who qualify for and would otherwise need a federally subsidized loan to instead graduate from nursing school with little or no student loan debt. That life-changing financial support makes a nursing education more accessible to eligible students concerned about accruing student loan debt. This year alone, Georgetown awarded Conway Scholarships to 45 BSN students with an average gift of between $3,000 to $5,000.
(From l) Conway Scholars Vivien Tan (N’28), Avery Rieger (N’28) and Samantha Ashworth-Nalbone (N’28)
“I am incredibly grateful for this generous gift from the Bedford Falls Foundation,” says Roberta Waite, Ed.D., R.N., dean of Georgetown University’s School of Nursing. “This will have a deep impact for our students while they are attending school by alleviating the stress associated with financial burdens, which in turn will help them focus on their studies. Beyond their days here at Georgetown, it will also support them to select future nursing positions in their areas of interest without the constraints tied to salary to pay back their federal loan.”
Building a Thriving Nursing Workforce
With this support, Conway Scholars can focus on studying at their highest level and engaging fully in the BSN program’s experiential learning and community-based work, rooted in the Jesuit tradition of cura personalis, or the care and development of the whole person.
Conway Scholar Marianne Savane (N’25)
The gift to Georgetown’s School of Nursing is part of the Bedford Falls Foundation’s larger goal of increasing the number of registered nurses amid shortages driven in part by the retirement of older nurses as the demand for care increases, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
“A nurse who graduates with debt may feel they have to choose the highest-paying position,” says Conway. “By partnering with Georgetown to provide scholarships that will allow students to graduate without federal subsidized loans, it is my hope that the Conway Scholars will be free instead to take the position that best fits their professional goals. Part of solving the critical nursing shortage is keeping nurses in nursing, and having a job that they love is part of that.”
About the images on this page: Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program students develop and refine their clinical skills in the O’Neill Family Foundation Clinical Simulation Center at Georgetown University School of Nursing. Top image: Pictured left: Conway Scholar Zoe Rosales (N’25). (All images courtesy of Sarah Vittone)