National Park College (NPC) Respiratory Therapy students will have an opportunity to earn more scholarship funds this year thanks to the generosity of the Lawrence Respiratory Foundation. The Lawrence Respiratory Foundation recently announced an increase in the amount of the Professional Achievement in Respiratory Care (PARC) scholarship from $1,500 to $1,800.
The Lawrence Respiratory Foundation was established in 2018 by Gretchen Lawrence, BA, RRT, FAARC. Lawrence had a 30 year career in respiratory care and wanted to give back to her profession. She said the field of respiratory care “gave [her] as much as it got.” Lawrence received her education at El Centro College, part of the Dallas County Community College District in Dallas, Texas. She and her husband, David Hulett, moved to Hot Springs in 2012.
In early 2018, Lawrence sought input from faculty in the respiratory therapy program, and with assistance from the National Park College Foundation, she and her husband created the Lawrence Respiratory Foundation. Their initial goal was to provide one senior student with monetary support for the final year of the respiratory therapy program at National Park College.
In August 2018, the first PARC scholarship was awarded to Dillon Jennings. In 2019, the Foundation was able to award two scholarships to Amber Ashburn and Mitchell Beard. All three students were on the President’s List, demonstrating their academic strengths. “We cannot begin to express our gratitude to those who have generously supported the PARC scholarship. Without that help, all of this would not be possible,” said Lawrence.
Respiratory Therapy program director, Paul Lowe said, “This scholarship has a tremendous impact on our students and we are so appreciative of the Lawrence Respiratory Foundation for their commitment to supporting our program and our students.”
