York College Nursing Major Awarded Memorial Scholarship to Go Towards Her Studies

Ke-lhja DeShields ‘27 was recently awarded the Kristin Runyon Memorial Scholarship, which will go towards continuing her education, thanks to the support of York College’s Nursing Department.

The Kristin Runyon Memorial Scholarship was created in honor of Kristin Runyon and to support future nurses, providing them with financial assistance and encouragement to continue pursuing their nursing education with the same dedication she had.

According to an article recently published, “Since its inception in 2011, the fund has awarded $130,000 to 42 nursing students. It is sustained by generous donations from family, friends, colleagues, former patients, and the broader community.”

Most recently, the scholarship awarded funds to seven aspiring nurses. Amongst the recipients was Ke-lhja DeShields ‘27, a York College of Pennsylvania Nursing major with a minor in History. Although her nursing journey has not gone as she expected, Ke-lhja has had the opportunity not only to learn from professionals both on and off campus, but also to envision the type of nurse she wishes to be for her patients, based on her own healthcare experiences.

Choosing YCP and Nursing

Having grown up in York, PA, and having family who were alumni, Ke-lhja was very familiar with the area and the College. From her experience, York College had earned a positive reputation and, to her knowledge, offered one of the best nursing programs in the area. So, she decided to transfer from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) to York College.

“I really wanted the best foundation for nursing that I could get, and I felt that York College was the best fit for me,” Ke-lhja said.

As for why she chose her Nursing major and wants to go into the medical field, Ke-lhja said she wants to follow in her mother’s footsteps. She worked in healthcare for Ke-lhja’s entire life, which is now about 23 years.

Ke-lhja also credits her personal health experiences for influencing her plan.

“In my senior year of high school, I was hospitalized for about two weeks following a devastating hand injury,” she said. “That experience showed me the kind of nurse I aspire to be. My pediatric nurses demonstrated not only how to advocate for a patient, but how to genuinely care for one.”

Since coming to York College, Ke-lhja has had many empowering experiences within the Nursing Department. She became a member of the Student Nursing Association of Pennsylvania (SNAP) and completed her required clinical experiences at various locations, including UPMC, WellSpan, and Encompass Health.

“It’s given me experience to relate to patients, to talk to patients, to spend time with them, and I really do appreciate that because York College, specifically the nursing program, assigns students to different clinical locations that provide us with knowledge and education on how larger healthcare entities might operate differently while all still having the same core values of patient care,” Ke-lhja said.

The Memorial Scholarship

Ke-lhja applied for the scholarship during the last Fall Semester, during what she can only describe as one of the hardest times of her life following a colon cancer diagnosis. While she was advised and allowed to take time off during the semester, Ke-lhja insisted on finishing what she had started.

When she got the call that she would be a recipient of the scholarship, Ke-lhja was overjoyed.

“I remember when I got the phone call from Kristin’s mom, who is primarily the person who is in charge of her memorial scholarship,” Ke-lhja said. “[...] When you have something that detrimental happen to you, and you’re not doing well, it leaves a lasting impact on you and your confidence in how you feel about yourself. So knowing that people believed in me enough to invest in my education and my future, it gave me what my illness took away from me - confidence.”

Ke-lhja plans to use the scholarship funds she received to contribute toward her school tuition. Her current plans after graduation are to work in pediatrics, hoping to continue working with children in some capacity.

She also has an externship planned for the upcoming summer in a pediatric ward, which she is very excited about.

“I love working with kids,” Ke-lhja said. “I think that kids are one of the most resilient populations of patients. They heal well, they’re very optimistic, and they’re incredibly brave. So truthfully, I think I see myself going into [pediatrics], whether it’s just a regular pediatric floor or if it’s pediatric oncology, because of my own experience with oncology; it was a very difficult thing to come to terms with. And for parents, I watched my own parents go through it, so I know what it’s like to have to comprehend and accept the fact that your child is sick.”

“So if I can help anybody else with those feelings or walk them through that journey, then I’ll do my best, because I survived it.”

Meaningful Faculty Support

Thanks to the support of the faculty and professors who taught her at York College, Ke-lhja shared that she is confident about facing whatever lies ahead in her nursing journey.

“I wholeheartedly believe that I wouldn’t be where I am without some of the nursing faculty who have helped guide me and help shape me into the student nurse that I am today,” she said. “There are many, many professors and instructors there who have allowed me to let my guard down and feel what I need to feel, if you will.”

In Ke-lhja’s opinion, one of the defining qualities that sets York College’s nursing school apart from others is the care the instructors put into their students. They genuinely care about the students in their program and genuinely want them to succeed.

They were there to support Ke-lhja during the hardest semester of her educational career. They were honest, but never judged her or expressed disappointment if she didn’t succeed in the way she hoped she would. Most of all, they believed in her and encouraged her to never give up.

“I think that my journey here at York College is definitely not the norm, so it’s taught me to be resilient, and it’s taught me to keep going, and it’s taught me to fight for what I believe in and what I want,” Ke-Ihja said. “Truthfully, the instructors in the Nursing Department have given me, I think, all the pieces I need to succeed.”

Now, Ke-Ihja echoes their sentiments for future nursing students never to give up. There are times she is hard on herself, and the work can be demanding, but she understands that it is for a purpose - to make her the best nurse she can possibly be and to serve her patients with the best care that she can provide.

“I would say that Nursing is, if not one of the hardest majors there is, but it’s hard for a reason,” Ke-Ihja said. “When it gets hard, I think a lot of the time, you need to remind yourself you’re doing this for a reason and that you can do it and say that maybe, a bad grade, doesn’t define who you are.”

“I am proof that a bad grade does not define you, a cancer diagnosis didn’t define me either. I couldn’t let it, so I leave this advice to future students: one day, you’ll realize the obstacles that once seemed so overwhelming no longer hold that devastating power. Be kind to yourself and please, in the difficult times, give yourself the grace you might so freely offer others.”