National Park College (NPC) Respiratory Therapy (RT) students Leslie Huggs and Amy
Techert were recently awarded the Professional Achievement in Respiratory Care (PARC)
scholarship from the Lawrence Respiratory Foundation. The award is a $1,800 scholarship
established to support senior students in the Respiratory Therapy program.
Scholarship recipients are required to have a minimum 3.0 GPA, be a member of the
American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) and the Arkansas Society for Respiratory
Care (ASRC), and participate in an interview with scholarship board members.
Huggs attended Benton High School and graduated in 2019. She said she chose Respiratory
Therapy because her family has had a lot of respiratory illnesses, and she would like
to help other people with those issues. She is on pace to graduate from NPC in 2024
and plans to pursue a bachelor's degree at the University of Arkansas for Medical
Sciences (UAMS) while working as a respiratory therapist.
“[NPC] is close to home and I love the environment and the many opportunities. I feel
very blessed and honored to receive this award,” said Huggs.
Techert is originally from Wisconsin and moved to Hot Springs when she was 12. She
attended Lake Hamilton High School and graduated in 2004. She said, “I had heard that
the Respiratory program at NPC was one of the best and have known some people that
had gone through the nursing program who spoke highly of it as well.”
Techert explained, “When my mom was sick she worked closely with respiratory therapists
for many years and they inspired me to pursue this career. The passion and dedication
that you find with those in this field is truly amazing.”
Techert plans to graduate from NPC in 2024. “I absolutely love the atmosphere at NPC.
There is always a friendly face. The school has a lot of programs available,” she
noted.
“The respiratory field is a small one in comparison to most of the other medical science
programs, and the fact that there is a scholarship specifically for respiratory is
great. It really is a privilege to have been chosen for this scholarship and I definitely
feel honored for it,” added Techert.
Respiratory Care program director, Paul Lowe said, “I am very proud and excited these
two women won the Professional Achievement in Respiratory Care Scholarship from The
Lawrence Respiratory Foundation. They both exhibit high levels of professionalism
and work ethics needed to win this prestigious award.”
