Minnesota Nursing Magazine Spring/Summer 2012 - School of ...

advancement news
School of Nursing Graduate
Establishes a Legacy through
Planned Giving
by mame osteen
School of Nursing donors Wendy Sharpe, RN, BSN, MA ’83,
and her husband, Jim Earley, understand first-hand what it
takes to pursue degrees as non-traditional students. Like
a growing number of students pursuing higher education
today, going straight to college out of high school didn’t
work for them.
“I went to college after high school, but it didn’t pan
out,” says Wendy, a registered nurse and School of Nursing
graduate. Instead she married, had a child and earned a
two-year associate degree at a community college before
returning to the University of Minnesota to complete
her studies. “I came in with experience in nursing and
experience in life, and I was given credit for those things,”
says Wendy, now an RN in advanced illness care at United
Health Care. Jim, a graduate of the Carlson School of
Business, experienced a similar path.
Wendy and Jim experienced an “aha” moment when
they met with an attorney to plan their estate. Based on
personal experience, both decided that establishing a
scholarship fund for non-traditional students would help
them give back and also help advance the profession
they deeply care about. “I feel so much gratitude for the
education I received,” says Wendy. “Nursing has been
a wonderful career for me. It has given me so many
opportunities.”
Wendy credits the School of Nursing with teaching
her the leadership skills she needed to tackle important
community health issues. Before joining United Health
Care, she was active in the Women’s Center Program at
North Memorial Hospital for 10 years. “My ability to do
community outreach for women was so enhanced by my
university education,” she says.
Wendy Sharpe and Jim Earley pictured with Dean Connie Delaney.
The couple’s estate provision will someday support a
wide variety of non-traditional nursing students. Their
scholarship will support minority and/or non-traditional
students enrolled in the undergraduate nursing program
who are juggling work, school, and family life.
Already active in alumni activities, Wendy now serves
on the School of Nursing Alumni Board and has served on
the Foundation Board in years past. Now, through planned
giving, Wendy and Jim guarantee that their support will
continue well into the future.
For more information about making a contribution or
establishing a new scholarship that will benefit nursing
students, please contact the director of development,
Gigi Fourré Schumacher at 612-625-1365 or
gschumac@umn.edu.
44 minnesota nursing | nursing.umn.edu/magazine