Kerri Wolf of Stilwell is one of six area educators selected to receive master’s in nursing scholarships.

Her interest in nursing goes clear back to her full-blood Cherokee grandmother who was a medicine woman.

“She was the first born, so her father taught her to go into the woods and bring back herbs to help the family,” she said.

A registered nurse, Wolf is a faculty member at Indian Capital Technology Center’s practical nursing program, Tahlequah campus.

Wolf said her grandmother also had a sister who was in mainstream medicine.

“She was an LPN at Stilwell Memorial Hospital,” she said. “She wore a white starched uniform and talked about helping people. I just thought it was the neatest thing.”

Wolf and the other recipients were chosen by the Oklahoma Health Care Workforce Center to receive scholarships to obtain their Master’s of Science in Nursing Degree through the University of Oklahoma College of Nursing online program. The online program scholarships are intended to help relieve the nursing shortage in rural areas.

These scholarships are awarded through a program to advance current nurse educators from bachelor’s to master’s level and provide more educational opportunities for potential nurses.

Wolf said the current nursing shortage is mostly due to a lack of educators, and she wants to do her part.

“Last fall I started at OU for my masters degree,” she said. “In May of 2009 I’ll graduate with a master’s in nursing education.”

The next step will be helping the new nursing students who are up and coming.

“I’m going to go back and hopefully help them to be better educated nurses,” she said.

The scholarship will make a big difference in everything Wolf has to deal with.

“It pays for my tuition, books and fees,” she said. “It’s a huge relief financially. I work full time, and I have a family. It’s a huge load off my mind.”

The five other local recipients are: Carol Williams, RN, of Warner, faculty member at Indian Capital Technology Center practical nursing program, Sallisaw campus; Christy Boswell, RN, of Okay, faculty member at Indian Capital Technology Center practical nursing program, Sallisaw; Deborah Cheater, RN, Sallisaw, faculty member at Carl Albert State College Department of Nursing, Poteau; Katherine Hicks, RN, Sallisaw, faculty member at the Carl Albert State College Department of Nursing, Poteau; Connie Hunt, RN, Stilwell, faculty member at Indian Capital Technology Center practical nursing program, Sallisaw.