ALPENA — Hillman’s Emma Hardies was recently awarded $1,000 from the Alpena MyMichigan Health Foundation’s June and Gerald Kramer Memorial Scholarship fund as well as the Thelma Orr Scholarship from MyMichigan Alpena Volunteers. She is studying to become an occupational therapist.

Alpena resident Ki’auna Meyer, who is studying to become a physician, received the Aliferis Scholarship in the amount of $1,000. The Aliferis Scholarship was established in tribute to Dr. Peter Aliferis, a pathologist who worked at the Alpena hospital for 37 years, according to a press release from MyMichigan Health.

The June and Gerald Kramer Memorial Scholarship honors two longtime MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena volunteers, according to the MyMichigan Health press release. This year’s scholarship was awarded to Hardies, who recently graduated from Cornerstone University in May with a degree in exercise science focusing on pre-occupational therapy. According to Hardies, she plans on attending Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) in the fall to pursue a master’s degree in occupational therapy (OT).

“Although I made the decision to pursue the field of occupational therapy, sometimes it feels like it chose me,” Hardies said in the press release. “I have always had a passion for caring for others, especially our most vulnerable, and a passion for science and learning more about caring for the human body. For this reason, occupational therapy became a perfect fit to best apply these passions and my personal skills and attributes.”

Hardies told The Alpena News that her interest in OT began in middle school with prosthetics and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). However, experiences she’s had in school and within her family pushed her to pursue OT as a career.

“I have a cousin with cerebral palsy … that kind of opened the door to OT for me,” Hardies siad. “As I got into undergrad and had more internship experiences and spent time in pediatric and geriatric settings, my passion for OT just excelled … I knew I was in the right place and I was where God intended me and so I’m fully confident in the direction I’m going.”

Hardies also said that she saw how OT was beneficial for her great-grandmother who had dementia. That experience has inspired her to pursue OT in gereatric settings.

“OT is a very vast field,” Hardies said. “I was very much set in pediatrics. Didn’t have much interest in geriatrics, and then I experienced the struggles that my great-grandmother had with dementia and some cognitive challenges in that sense … the role OT can play in the progression of some of these diseases for elderly is amazing, so I am no longer set in pediatrics.”

Hardies said she still enjoys the field of OT pediatrics, but she is open to other options.

“There’s just so many ways that OT can be of help to people,” Hardies said. “I’m very much open to different options … I love the flexibility of it and I can continue to learn and grow throughout the entirety of my career … that’s just more people that I’ll be able to reach.”

Hardies explained that she is planning on staying in Michigan and would like the opportunity to move back to Northeast Michigan when she finishes her master’s degree.

“I am open to wherever the Lord directs me,” Hardies said. “My dream would be to start my own practice … there’s definitely different job opportunities in the Alpena area and lots of availability so my goal is to take what I get and bring it home.”

Overall, Hardies said she is grateful for the support of the community and to have received the scholarship.

“To receive a scholarship like this that comes straight from local volunteers and people that want to reinvest in our community means the world to me,” Hardies said. “I’ll be able to take this and get the degree that I need to bring at home and reinvest in the people that have invested in me … it’s a huge honor and I’m just incredibly blessed and grateful.”

Meyer stated in her essay to the selection committee that she intends to help rural populations.

“I am from a rural town in northern Michigan; this has allowed me to see firsthand the health disparities of an underserved community, which I hope to address as a future physician,” Meyer said, according to the press release. “Also, throughout college, I have worked in different health care settings, including adult foster care homes, with individuals with developmental disabilities and mental illnesses. This opened my eyes to great inequalities in care for all people living in my area and other areas in my state. People often overlook the individual and only see their disability, which is one thing I know I will not do as a physician … Through my own experience, I know how important it is to advocate for yourself and your patients, and this is why I would like to give back to rural populations as a physician.”

“We are honored to award these generous scholarships to Ki’auna and Emma to support them in their education,” Ann Diamond, director of MyMichigan Health Foundation, said in the press release. “We thank the funders that make this possible, enhancing the potential of accomplished medical specialists returning to serve our community.”

Kayla Wikaryasz can be reached at 989-358-5688 or kwikaryasz@TheAlpenaNews.com.