Deejai Mountford needed money to pursue an education in psychiatric nursing at SIAST.
“Being in school and living away from home can get quite expensive,” said Mountford, a 24-year-old second-year student in psychiatric nursing at SIAST. “With everything nowadays — even just books — so expensive, and our program has a very heavy work load so you don’t have as much time to work ... So all the fees and tuition can be very stressful.”
Mountford, a Cree woman from James Smith First Nation, was the first-time recipient of the Willy Hodgson Bursary. Hodgson was an Aboriginal Saskatchewan psychiatric nurse who settled in Moose Jaw and passed away from cancer on Valentine’s Day in 2003.
The bursary is in memory of Hodgson and the recipient must be of Aboriginal descent. It supports one $2,000 bursary per year to a student studying psychiatric nursing at SIAST based on financial needs. All funds required to establish the memorial trust were fundraised.
“I was honoured to receive it,” said Mountford, currently doing her practicum in Prince Albert. “Receiving the bursary was very beneficial.”
For more information, see an upcoming edition of the Times-Herald.
