BLOOMINGTON, Minn. - Northwestern Health Sciences University is offering four full-tuition diversity scholarships, boosting its commitment to create an institutional culture that cultivates diversity. The scholarship was formerly available as a half-tuition scholarship. Each winter term, one student enrolling in the Minnesota College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, one student enrolling in the School of Massage Therapy, and two students enrolling in the College of Chiropractic will receive the scholarship award.
In order to be eligible for this award, the applicant must be a minority student who is underrepresented in their future professional field, and/or a student who has shown strong participation and commitment to minority communities. They also must demonstrate a financial need; show high academic achievement; provide an application essay, letter of recommendation, and complete a personal interview with the Diversity Commission Scholarship Committee.
"We want to acknowledge and recognize students who are advancing minority communities," says Tolu Oyelowo, DC, chair of the Diversity Commission at Northwestern.
The purpose of increasing the award to a full scholarship is to increase the minority enrollment at Northwestern, and to provide better natural health care services to minority communities. Also, according to Dr. Oyelowo, studies have shown that students in diverse education environments learn better, because the environments provide more perspectives and more varied discussions.
Biruh Tegegne, T9, chiropractic student, received the Diversity Scholarship award in 2006. She says, "Increasing diversity on campus is important because it will better prepare students to become successful leaders in this increasingly diverse world."
Northwestern also recently began offering a Student Diversity Leadership Scholarship to current students. This scholarship is awarded to one student each year. The student must be a T3 - T8 chiropractic student, T3 - T7 MCAOM student, or T1 - T3 massage student.
According to Dr. Oyelowo, the purpose of the Student Diversity Leadership Scholarship is to encourage students to participate while they attend Northwestern, and encourage them to keep up with their leadership in diversity. Catherine Njogu, T9 chiropractic student, and 2008 recipient of the leadership scholarship, says, "Being the recipient of the Diversity Student Leadership Award was one of the highlights of my academic life!" Njogu has been involved in youth mentoring, her church, homeless shelters, nursing homes, domestic abuse shelters, and various clubs. She believes, "my work must continue beyond Northwestern."
This scholarship is a tuition reduction scholarship, meaning the recipient will receive an award equal to 100 percent of the academic program tuition for each term the student remains eligible. Eligibility for this scholarship includes: financial need; minimum GPA of 3.0; letter of recommendation; completed applications and essays; and a personal interview with the Diversity Commission Scholarship Committee.
"We would like to provide students with the access to give back to minority populations, and reward students for doing so," says Dr. Oyelowo. These scholarships aren't just for minority students; they are for people who are committed to serving minority communities."
Northwestern Health Sciences University offers a wide array of choices in natural health care education including chiropractic, Oriental medicine, acupuncture, therapeutic massage and human biology. The University has nearly 900 students on a 25-acre campus in Bloomington, Minnesota.
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