100 scholarships were awarded to Nebraska residents pursuing a nursing degree at UNMC.
The UNMC College of Nursing has announced its first recipients of the Joanne and William Conway Nursing Scholarship.
Earlier this year, the Bedford Falls Foundation-DAF provided $1.5 million to establish scholarships for 100 UNMC College of Nursing students annually over the next three years.
This fall, the first 100 Conway Scholarships were awarded to Nebraska residents pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at UNMC who are in good academic standing and demonstrate financial need.
From top to bottom row, left to right – Teagan Watts, Emma Kennedy and Cora Payne; Madison
Mendoza, Rylee Poessnecker and Brooke Lubke; Kailee Griess, Hailey Lindburg and Candice Gant; Erin
Murphy, Kyra Kruse and Odalis Ramirez Hernandez; Carmine Carson, Ella Lange, Maggie Painter and
Paola Murillo; Taya Engel, Mallory Kleen, Kathryn “KT” Tzunux and Waylon Warneke. (UNMC)
Students may be enrolled at any UNMC College of Nursing division — Omaha, Lincoln, Scottsbluff, Kearney and Norfolk. Scholarship recipients are known as Conway Scholars and receive an average award of $5,000 per year. Each division hosted a ceremony where students were presented with a Conway Scholar pin in recognition of their scholarship award and commitment to the nursing profession.
Nebraska faces a shortage of nearly 6,700 nurses. In addition, nine counties report having no nurses working in their counties, according to the Nebraska Center for Nursing report published in 2025.
“We are excited to partner with the Bedford Falls Foundation in educating the next generation of nurses,” said UNMC College of Nursing Dean Lepaine Sharp-McHenry, DNP. “The inaugural cohort of Conway Scholars represents the promise, dedication and commitment of Bill Conway Jr. in supporting nursing students nationwide. We are proud to recognize our first Conway Scholars and are grateful for their commitment to prepare themselves as compassionate, transformative clinicians.”
Conway Scholar Cierra Vanosdall said becoming a nurse has been a childhood dream.
“The financial challenges that come with nursing school have not always made that dream feel easy to reach,” she said. “Receiving the Conway Scholarship means more to me than I can put into words. It takes away some of the financial stress and allows me to focus on becoming the nurse I have always dreamed of being. I am incredibly thankful for this support and for someone believing in my future and helping me get one step closer to doing what I’ve been dreaming of since I was just a girl.”
Bill Conway Jr., founder and trustee of the Bedford Falls Foundation, said: “We are pleased to support the inaugural Conway Scholars at the UNMC College of Nursing. We hope these scholarships provide students with greater opportunities to succeed in their studies and prepare for nursing careers serving the communities that need them the most.”
The 2026-27 Conway Scholars are listed below. Some students are not listed for privacy reasons.
Ainsworth – Emma Kennedy
Albion – Kyra Kruse
Amherst – Erin Murphy
Atkinson – Rylee Poessnecker
Auburn – Meadow Rightsell
Beatrice – Ava Bolli
Bellevue – Ashley Mejia Morey, Jasmine Quiambao, Vanya Saaid
Bennington – Carmella Cooper, Katelyn Miller
Blair – Leah Chance
Bancroft – Deanna Thomsen
Cairo – Alaina Suntych
Columbus – Alecia Retzlaff
Crete – Mary Lucas Lucas
Deshler – Mallory Kleen, Taylor Sieber
Elkhorn – Bridget Swan
Falls City – Kaitlyn Kirkendall
Firth – Elise Van Cleave
Fremont – Michelle Henrichson, Madeline Jones
Fullerton – Adalynn Smith
Gibbon – Paola Murillo, Odalis Ramirez Hernandez
Grand Island – Breeonna Brandt, Natalia Melesio, Madison Mendoza, Jordan Muirhead, Caitlyn Perez
Greeley – Taya Engel
Gretna – Lily Blake, Gretchen Laux
Hampton – Brooke Lubke,Emma Young
Hastings – Candice Gant
Hershey – Kinley Folchert
Holdrege – Avery Hurlbert
Humphrey – Abilyn Schneider
Kearney – Owen Biggs, Isobel Zayas
La Vista – Kaitlyn Ferguson
Lincoln – Dajani Bringas Acosta, Denise Garcia, Annika Hanson, Kayzha Madsen, Jeana Phan, Macy Roth, Lillian Speipel, Elizabeth Timmerman, Erica Vu
Nebraska City –Kassidy Olson
Niobrara – Chloe Reynolds
Norfolk – Josie Bazyn, Addison Corr, Apple Dah, Michelle Taylor
Oakland – Carmine Carson
Omaha – Ashley Adelakoun, Rafiullah Ahmadi, Savannah Bragg, Annabelle Colwell, Alla Eisa, Crystal Garcia Madrid, Taylor Haas, Bailey Jackson, Hser Kmwe, Emma Lahm, Britney Mejia, Nathan Nguyen, Brenda Ramos, Coryn Riedel, Skyler Ritterbush, Joel Salvador-Huerta, Emorie Swanson, Nana Yaseen
O’Neill – Alana Hoefer
Ord – Shaylee Thomsen, Cierra Vanosdall
Papillion – Natalie Alvarez-Marquez, Emma Bichler, Marriah Potterf
Pierce – Maggie Painter
Polk –Yessica Barrio Alfaro, Hailey Lindburg
Randolph – Jacey Bartels
Schuyler – Daniela Chavez Nava, Kathryn “KT” Tzunux
South Sioux City –Thuan Tran
Sutton – Kailie Griess
Tilden – Waylon Warneke
Trenton – Emma Carfield
Utica – Cora Payne
Valentine – Sadi Osnes
Wahoo – Teagan Watts
Waverly – Ella Lange
West Point – Jacie Siecke
