A Port Coquitlam woman is among the first recipients of a new national scholarship that aims to celebrate those breaking barriers in health and medicine.
Nursing student Sarah Buck is getting a generous bursary from the Canadian Nurses Foundation (CNF) to help continue her studies at Thompson Rivers University (TRU) in Kamloops.
She's set to receive $3,000 from the fund as an undergraduate, which was created to advance diversity in nursing and health equity research for Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC).
There are 200 per cent more nursing jobs available compared to five years ago, according to a Statistics Canada labour force survey from July 2022.
However, "nursing students across the country are making strides every day to help make the profession more diverse," the CNF explained.
Buck is of Chinese descent, and was adopted as an infant after she was left alone on the surgical floor of a hospital in that country.
As she grew up, Buck has been described as "highly driven" and said her desire has been to help others, especially those who experienced what she did.
Buck also volunteers with Hearts and Minds, a Kamloops-based non-profit that builds tiny homes for those experiencing homelessness.
She's one of 19 people listed for the inaugural scholarship, which is a joint effort between CNF and Tylenol Canada.
In addition to the $3,000 Baccalaureate fund, Masters and PhD students that qualify for the scholarship earned $5,000 and $10,000 bursaries respectively.
