INA, Ill. (Sep. 27, 2023)—RLC Nursing student advances her career through the assistance of the PATH Grant.
FROM LEFT; RLC Nursing Instructor Zach Hostetter, RLC Nursing student Libby Thomas (Enfield), and RLC CTE Success Coach Emily DeForest.
One of the students who has already benefited from the PATH Grant is Libby Thomas. Thomas is a first-year Associate Degree Nursing student with a C.N.A. certificate. The PATH Grant has gone towards her C.N.A fees, books, and state test. She started the program right after high school and she said that with the help of the Grant, some of the financial stress she had about starting college was lifted off her shoulders.
Originally awarded to Rend Lake College in July 2022, the PATH Grant has helped serve studentsby providing funding for students in specific programs, help fund a CTE recruiter, and support success coaching for Allied Health students at RLC as well as many others
It is through the assistance of the PATH Grant that students like Thomas are able to affordably reach their goals. Thomas comes from a family of nurses, and her mother earned her Nursing degree at Rend Lake College. She wants to follow in her family’s footsteps and work as a nurse like her mother, grandmother, and aunt. She currently works as a tech but her goals after graduation are to work as an RN.
“Receiving the PATH Grant for my C.N.A. allowed me the support I needed to continue my journey in the Nursing field,” Thomas said. She offered words of inspiration to students who are considering a future in healthcare: “Keep going. It’s a hard couple of years, but you can do it!”
For more information on the program, potential students can contact RLC CTE Mentor and Success Coach Emily DeForest; deforeste@rlc.edu; 618-437-5321, ext. 1769. Or you can learn more by visiting: www.rlc.edu/path.