CEUfast, a leading provider of continuing education for nursing professionals, is proud to announce the recipients of its 2025 Nursing Scholarship Student Program, created to support and inspire the next generation of nursing leaders. Each year, CEUfast awards nursing students with financial assistance and recognition for their outstanding commitment to the nursing profession.
This year, CEUfast received a strong pool of applications from highly qualified nursing students across the country. We sincerely thank all applicants who took the time to share their stories, experiences, and aspirations. The passion and dedication reflected in these applications were inspiring, making the selection process especially challenging.
This year's scholarship recipients are:
- Undergraduate Nursing Student Winner: Matthew Gallagher, BS, CCRN, NR-P, BSN Student at University of Nevada, Reno
- Awarded $1000, a free 1-year subscription to CEUfast, plus potential future authorship opportunities
- Graduate Nursing Student Winner: MaryAnn Martin, DNP, FNP BC, PMHNP BC, PhD Student at Walden University
- Awarded $5000, a free 1-year subscription to CEUfast, plus potential future authorship opportunities
Through their academic achievements, dedication to patient care, and passion for advancing the nursing profession, both honorees exemplify CEUfast's mission of empowering future leaders in healthcare. Their stories highlight the resilience, compassion, and drive that make nursing such a vital and inspiring profession. CEUfast is proud to recognize their hard work and to support them as they continue their journeys to make a lasting difference in the lives of their patients and communities.
Meet Our 2025 Scholarship Recipients
Undergraduate Scholarship Recipient
Matthew Gallagher, BS, CCRN, NR-P
BSN Student at University of Nevada, Reno
Q&A Interview
1. Can you tell us a little about yourself and what inspired you to pursue a career in nursing?
Kind of a long story, but during my junior year of my undergraduate degree in Nutrition, I went into Ventricular Tachycardia while playing intramural football. For those who aren't super familiar with their rhythms yet, this is a potentially lethal cardiac rhythm that people can be in either with or without a pulse; it is one of our shockable rhythms. I luckily never lost consciousness, but felt extremely lightheaded and was suddenly profusely sweating. I ended up spending a week in the hospital while I had a barrage of tests, procedures, and labs drawn. Aside from the uncertainty of the situation and having a sense of mortality thrust upon me at the age of 20, I really enjoyed my time spent in the hospital. I was getting help with my homework from the nursing staff, I had positive interactions with all the doctors, and surprisingly, the food wasn't as terrible as I had been led to believe. I was discharged later in the week, having been given a tentative diagnosis of a genetic heart condition, along with a piece of metal in my body to cardiovert me should I go back into VTACH.
Following this event, I changed my goals and realized I wanted to pursue a career in healthcare. I completed my degree in Nutrition and worked for a year as a nutrition representative, under a dietitian, for one of the local rehab hospitals. It didn't take long to figure out I desired to learn more about medicine and be more involved in patient care than tracking patients down to fill out menus with them. However, quitting my first healthcare job within the first six months wasn't exactly an option, so I went to night school and obtained my EMT certification. I then immediately jumped into an Advanced EMT course, and was so nervous about starting IVs that I ended up signing up for phlebotomy classes as well. After finishing both programs, I ended up transferring from the dietary department to our main hospital as a phlebotomist.
While working as a phlebotomist, I eventually found myself in paramedic school because I was still drawn to prehospital medicine and its skills, knowledge, independence, and scope of practice. However, almost everyone I was in class with wanted to pursue a career in firefighting, whereas I was interested in medicine. After graduation, I picked up a part-time job as an ER tech at one hospital and transferred to the ER as a trauma tech at my first hospital. For me, nursing was a logical next step in my career and educational aspirations. I enrolled in an associate's nursing program pre-pandemic, had clinicals cancelled during quarantine (while still working at two hospitals), and completed my degree in nursing in June of 2021, mid Delta Wave. I was fortunate enough that all the ICUs were hiring at this time, so I was able to start up there as a new grad. I've been working as a nurse on the same unit for a little over four years now, and am finally feeling ready to go on and further my education with a BSN, with the hope that a master's program will follow soon after!
2. What has been the most rewarding part of your nursing education so far?
As far as my nursing education goes, the most rewarding part is that it never seems to stop! The more you know, the more you realize you have so much more to learn! A year after I started working in the ICU, I began training on devices such as Impella and Intra-Aortic balloon pumps. Once I felt comfortable with those devices, I began training to recover post-open heart patients. Eventually, I was integrated into our hospital's rapid response team. Just when I thought I was comfortable, my hospital started an ECMO program, although we are still in development of our own in-house team, I have been lucky enough to have been the primary nurse for several of these patients so far. The learning curve on how to manage these patients has been steep, but the path has been rewarding every step of the way so far!
3. How do you plan to make a difference in your community or in the healthcare field?
As healthcare providers, we have a duty to provide our patients with the most accurate information so they can make the most informed decisions about their own care. Given the current state of the US Department of Health and Human Services, the time to act against misinformation is upon us. We have to stay informed about best practices and support science and research, now more than ever. I will continue to support vaccination efforts, and have chosen to minor in microbiology & immunology while pursuing my BSN, so I can continue to dispel misinformation regarding vaccines, as well as have educated discussions with vaccine skeptics regarding vaccine safety. This upcoming flu season, I have already volunteered to be a master vaxer and administer flu shots to staff at my hospital system.
I have also sent over a modified version of my blog post to one of the intensivists for my healthcare organization. In October, I will be presenting to the intensivist group to see if we can modify the thresholds for which we treat fever (currently 38 C). So I'm hoping to optimize patient outcomes for my current patients!
4. What does winning the CEUfast Scholarship mean to you?
As a BSN will be my second bachelor's degree, I have exceeded the maximum credit limit to pursue an undergraduate degree. As such, I am not currently eligible to receive undergraduate student loans and am financing my entire education out of pocket this go around. Since I am currently undertaking a 20-credit course load this semester while working full-time, I am stressed in many ways; receiving this scholarship is a huge relief from a financial standpoint.
5. What advice would you give to other nursing students just starting out?
First of all, I would like to say congratulations. Getting into a nursing program is no small feat. As many of you may have realized already, it's only the first step, and now the hard work begins. School is tough, and nursing school is among the most difficult. After having been able to enjoy having zero homework, papers, or group projects for the better part of the last four years, my advice to anyone just starting is that it'll all be worth it in the end; there is a light at the end of the tunnel. However, after graduation, don't be deceived into thinking that just because you're done with school means you're done learning.
I would also like to say, don't feel dejected if you don't get your dream apprenticeship or starting job. Not everyone can start on their dream unit. I lucked out timing-wise, but I can't tell you how many people have transferred to or from my unit after getting a year of experience. No one is going to fault you for not wanting to stay in the same unit forever. There is so much lateral mobility in nursing that you can change specialties whenever your goals change. So don't feel dejected if, after graduation, you don't love your first job; you may not have found your perfect fit, but there are many other shoes to try.
Graduate Scholarship Recipient
MaryAnn Martin, DNP, FNP BC, PMHNP BC, PhD
PhD Student at Walden University
Q&A Interview
1. Can you tell us a little about yourself and what inspired you to pursue a career in nursing?
Growing up, my father was a U.S. Marine, and we lived in Korea during my adolescent years. We would watch the TV show M*A*S*H to see the action and experiences of the nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals treating wounded soldiers during the Korean War. The storyline of the health care team working together and helping so many individuals inspired me to pursue a career in nursing and join the Army Nurse Corps after completing my nursing education. My journey in nursing began in 1994 as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps, after graduating from the College of New Jersey with a BSN in nursing. Early in my Army nursing career, I had the opportunity to attend the 16-week Intensive Care course at Walter Reed Medical Center and work alongside many leaders in the healthcare field at this state-of-the-art military healthcare facility. This was a pivotal learning experience in my nursing career and encouraged me to want to continue to further my nursing education and achieve my advanced practice nursing degree.
2. What has been the most rewarding part of your nursing education so far?
The most rewarding part of my education has been becoming a Family and Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner and being able to practice and educate future NPs. The NP degree has provided many opportunities for me to grow both personally and professionally while helping patients and families in their time of need. My goal in practice has been to achieve positive health outcomes for my patients and to mentor and educate the next generation of advanced practice nurses who will make a difference in many patients' lives.I love that nursing has so much to offer to anyone who enters this wonderful field!
3. How do you plan to make a difference in your community or in the healthcare field?
My main area of focus in research is on U.S. veterans who suffer from Type 2 Diabetes and mental health conditions exacerbated by military service. I am currently completing my PhD in Nursing Education and working on the final stage of my PhD dissertation, which examines the relationship of probiotic intake on Hemoglobin (HbA1C) outcomes in U.S. veterans diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I plan to stay active in practice and research, continue educating and mentoring nurse practitioners and doctoral nursing students at all stages of their academic journey, and aim to continue with personal lifelong learning to stay current and relevant in the nursing and health care field so that I can be the best advanced practice nurse I can be.
4. What does winning the CEUfast Scholarship mean to you?
I am deeply honored to have won the CEUfast Scholarship. I honestly did not anticipate winning the award. So, it was such a wonderful surprise! I did not participate in the CEUfast Scholarship with the sole purpose of trying to win the scholarship money. For me, it was an opportunity to review information on the pediatric topic that is very important in the field of pediatrics and mental health. I also wanted the opportunity to increase nurses' and healthcare providers' understanding of pediatric neurodevelopmental disorders to improve awareness of the problem. Winning the award is inspiring, and it has also allowed me to get this information out to a large number of nurses who may encounter pediatric patients experiencing these neurodevelopmental conditions. Winning the scholarship allows for the dissemination of the topic, of course, provides some financial relief for my PhD tuition, and inspires me to continue writing and researching on topics that can improve healthcare providers' knowledge to make a difference in the healthcare environment.
5. What advice would you give to other nursing students just starting out?
I want to share that nursing is a GREAT profession full of so many opportunities. Advice to a new nursing student is to study, stay organized, ask many questions, perform self-care, and build strong networks with your peers and other professionals to be successful in this great profession. For experienced nurses, it's crucial to stay current and updated with the rapidly changing healthcare information, practice regular self-reflection for personal and professional growth, collaborate within and outside the nursing field, and avoid negative self-talk and discouragement. Ensure that you set your goals to be BIG, DIVERSE, and BOLD and pursue them! As a nurse, you'll face endless opportunities and experiences, so stay organized, excited, and focused on your goals, and you'll be able to achieve anything you set your mind to achieve.
About the CEUfast Nursing Student Scholarship
At CEUfast, we believe in investing in those who will shape the future of healthcare. Through our scholarship program, we aim to inspire and support the next generation of nursing leaders. Each year, one undergraduate and one graduate nursing student will be selected to receive our scholarships, with the goal of empowering future leaders in nursing through financial support and opportunities for professional growth.
