Natalie MacDonald is driven to help and care for others. As a second-year student in the Associate Degree of Nursing (ADN) program at Kent State East Liverpool, she is well on her way to making a career of doing just that. In the meantime, she found a way to help her fellow nursing students fund their educational journeys: a golf outing.
MacDonald is president of the Student Nursing Association (SNA) at Kent State East Liverpool and used her golf background as a way to organize an outing to help fund scholarships for ADN students on her campus. The outing was held in early August at the Salem Hills Golf Club and raised more than $10,000 for local students’ tuition needs.
“When I was asked to become part of SNA, I immediately wanted to help my classmates and the nursing students who will follow in our footsteps,” she shared. “That desire sparked the idea of a golf outing to raise funds (and) … the idea became something even more meaningful through a scholarship fund that could offer hope and support to future nursing students on the East Liverpool Campus.”
MacDonald spent several years in the golf business alongside her late husband, Scott, who devoted years to teaching and coaching in the Youngstown City Schools before pursuing his dream of designing and building a golf course.
“Helping others was simply part of who he was and everyone who knew him could see the kindness and generosity he carried with him. Creating this scholarship fund is a way to honor the life we shared and to keep his caring spirit alive,” she said. “With each student it supports, Scott’s legacy will continue to touch lives and inspire future nurses to care for others with the same compassion he showed throughout his life."
Encouraged by the success of the inaugural golf outing, MacDonald noted that she hopes the event continues to be a legacy that honors her late husband and helps future nurses. “My hope is to organize this event every year so the scholarship fund can continue easing the financial burden for nursing students and reminding them that their community believes in their dreams."
Cutline A: East Liverpool nursing student Natalie MacDonald
Cutline B: Helping with the recent East Liverpool ADN golf outing were nursing faculty (from left) Mary Palen, Tara Murphy (program director), Frances (Anne) Freitas, Ph.D., Natalie MacDonald (ADN student and event organizer) and Angela Douglass.
