It can be tough to be a student. Having a scholarship to help defray the cost of tuition can make a world of difference for those pursuing careers in laboratory medicine and pathology. The ASCP Foundation offers scholarships for medical laboratory students and phlebotomy students, as well as medical subspecialty grants and more.
Cassie Bonvissuto, MLS(ASCP)
CM, said the laboratory student scholarship she received from the ASCP Foundation was “very beneficial.” She was 34 years old and the mother of two children when she began the medical laboratory science (MLS) program at Akron Children’s Hospital, in Akron, Ohio.
“I was switching careers and had been a high school science teacher before starting the MLS program,” says Ms. Bonvissuto, now a supervisor in the molecular diagnostics laboratory at Akron Children’s Hospital. “This scholarship helped my family while I was in the MLS program because I was not bringing in my usual, full-time income due to my program responsibilities. We paid for the program out of pocket. The pandemic was also a factor in that my husband could not work as much overtime to compensate for the lack of my full-time income.”
This year, the ASCP Foundation is providing up to $500,000 in grants and scholarships to ASCP members and laboratory science programs.
Applications are due April 15.
The ASCP Foundation's Scholarship Fund provides financial support to outstanding pathology residents to help them expand their knowledge, skills, and professional network, and it assists clinical laboratory students through scholarships for books and tuition. The Foundation provides grants to directors of medical laboratory programs to support the purchase of education-related materials and other training program resources, and it also provides fellowships to students and pathology residents and fellows to expand their experience and knowledge.
Mary Beth Miele, PhD, MLS(ASCP)
CM, said the $3,000 grant she received from the ASCP Foundation enabled the medical laboratory science program she directs at Penn State Health M.S. Hershey Medical Center, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, to enhance its student laboratory in hematology.
“Our Automated Testing Laboratory is very busy, and many of the testing platforms are completely automated which does not allow the student truly hands-on experience with the instrumentation in that setting,” she says. “Thus, in our student lab we focus on more manual and semi-automated techniques.”
To remedy that, Dr. Miele’s laboratory was given a benchtop SYSMEX KX-21N CBC analyzer from one of its retired researchers. However, her team was unable to get the instrument to perform all measurements after routine and guided instructions by the manufacturer. So the ASCP Foundation grant covered repair of the SYSMEX and SYSMEX KX-21N specific reagents needed for the instrument.
“Having an instrument that students can run and troubleshoot enhances their understanding and laboratory skills and better prepares them for clinical rotations!” Dr.Miele says. "I cannot tell you how appreciative we are for the grant."
Imagine how an ASCP Foundation grant or scholarship can assist you in your studies or in your laboratory program! Apply today! Click
here to learn more.
