National Park College (NPC) announced the recipient of the David and Holly Hennessee
Scholarship. Radiologic technology student Aimee Boyd will receive the $500 award
for the spring semester. The scholarship is a need-based award that is presented to a radiologic technology
student that is “giving their all” in the program. Pictured left to right, David Hennessee,
Aimee Boyd and Holly Hennessee.
Boyd’s dream is to travel while working in the radiologic technology field and completing
her bachelor’s degree. Her husband travels for work and she cares for her niece and
nephew while maintaining a 4.0 grade point average in the very rigorous program.
Boyd says she does not receive financial aid, so this scholarship is important to
help her cover the costs of the program and summer classes. “When they told me, I
cried. With everything we have been going through, it is really helpful. It was definitely
a blessing at the right time,” said Boyd.
Radiologic Technology Director, Debra Wilson said, “Aimee is dependable, dedicated
and committed to success in the program. She is a tremendous asset to our class and
very deserving of this scholarship."
Scholarship donor David Hennessee is an alumnus of NPC’s Radiologic Technology program. He serves as the director of radiology and support services at Baptist Health Arkadelphia and director of radiology at Baptist Health Hot Spring County. He reflected on his time in the program saying, “I was in a position, like [Boyd], where I wasn’t getting any assistance. I was trying to get an education. I wanted to better myself, and I did everything I could to do it.”
He recalls chopping wood in the middle of the night by lights on the outside of his parents’ home to help feed his two children. “It would have been wonderful for someone to have had a scholarship like this,” Hennessee added. He credited his parents and former radiology director Dr. M.R. Springer for helping him through the difficult times.
Hennessee began working in the Radiology Department at St. Joseph’s Medical Center at the age of 18. “I started as a patient transporter in the Radiology Department and I just fell in love with radiology. So, as I have grown in the profession, I wanted to be able to help those who were struggling like I did, to give them a boost, to let them know that there is someone there that has gone through that before that may be able to help you as you move forward. And, that’s what it’s about, one helping the other. I think the leadership of that profession is responsible for bringing those up that are young in that profession to a higher standard. That is our job as leaders,” said Hennessee.
