Owatonna Hospital Auxiliary awards $20,000 in student scholarships
This year’s scholarship recipients include:
Abigail Beaver - $1,500
Diana Foster - $3,000
Ikhlas Haji - $1,000
Madison Homuth - $1,500
Claire Oswald - $2,000
Brittany Pechacek - $2,000 (Donald Sanford Scholarship)
Lauren Phelps - $2,000
Isabella Schultz - $1,000
Cody Shaw - $1,000
Jocelyn Simones - $1,000
Paytyn Struss - $1,000
April Zago - $3,000
The above students are all nursing majors or studying a health-related field at a college, medical school or vocational school, and live in Steele County or are an employee of the Owatonna Hospital, or the immediate family member of an Owatonna Hospital employee. In addition to these qualifications, the Donald Sanford scholarship winner must also have completed pre-requisites and been accepted into a nursing program at a college or vocational school.
"Every year the Hospital Auxiliary looks forward to awarding these extremely bright and dedicated students with scholarships to offset their educational expenses,” said Mary Parsons, Owatonna Hospital volunteer services coordinator. "We are thrilled to see them follow their passion and hope one day some of them will be caring for people in our community."
Since 1960, the Hospital Auxiliary has distributed several scholarships annually using funds raised during its spring Festival of Tables event at the Owatonna Country Club. The event, held May 13, raised nearly $25,000 after expenses, which is $10,000 more than last year. Donations collected at a special public preview event the night prior, to see the uniquely decorated tables and gift baskets for auction, contributed to this year’s success.
Deb Buck, volunteer president of the Owatonna Hospital Auxiliary, added “We can’t thank the community enough for generously supporting our Festival of Tables event, and making it a banner year as we celebrated our 12h annual event. This is truly a special community.”
The Owatonna Hospital Auxiliary is made up of approximately 130 community volunteers. In addition to providing scholarships for area students pursuing medical careers, their fundraising efforts help with unbudgeted hospital items and amenities to provide patient care and comfort.
Marcia Thompson (left), chair of the Owatonna Hospital Auxiliary scholarship committee, awards a scholarship to Jocelyn Simones (right), 2025 high school graduate of Bethlehem Academy in Faribault. Simones graduated Summa Cum Laude and has already completed her Associate of Arts Degree through the PSEO program at South Central College in Faribault. She will be attending College of St. Scholastica and majoring in Exercise Physiology with a pre-Physician Assistant designation. She aspires to be an Orthopedic Physician's Assistant. Congratulations Jocelyn and all the 2025 scholarship winners!
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