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Bursaries give nursing student much-needed boost

A married dad chasing his dream in the Selkirk College Nursing Program received a financial boost.
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First-year Nursing Program student Emmett Deuling is one of 130 Selkirk College students who will receive bursaries this year. The Nelson resident is the recipient of more than $5,000 worth of needs-based financial awards. Photo supplied

A married father chasing his dream in the Selkirk College Nursing Program has received a big financial boost.

Emmett Deuling, who was feeling anxiety about the cost of four years of education, has received word that he was the successful recipient of more than $5,000 worth of bursaries.

“Every time there is an envelope with money in it, it’s woo-hoo,” says the 29-year-old Nelson resident.

Deuling, who has been successful in the classroom at the Castlegar campus, said he and his wife were concerned about providing for their two-year-old son.

“It means I can focus on my education, it means my baby is eating very well, it means everyone in the family has winter clothes, it means I don’t have to work because school is such an important priority right now.”

Deuling, originally from Lumby, graduated from high school and headed to northern British Columbia to work in the bush. The physical demands of camp life soon became too much and he decided to return to school.

With the lure of Whitewater Ski Resort and a more enjoyable mountain life, Deuling enrolled in the Selkirk College Professional Cook Program in 2009. After completing his first year, he was hired by the All Seasons Café and began a run of cooking that eventually resulted in earning his Red Seal.

“I’d been cooking and snowboarding my way through the last decade which was really fun, but it was time for a change,” he says.

He applied for the Nursing Program and while on the wait list, returned to the School of Academic Upgrading at Selkirk College to dust off his thinking cap and get the needed requirements.

While he was a part-time student, Deuling continued to earn a steady paycheck as a cook.

Factoring in student loans and his wife’s income, the young family was able to get through the last few months. With at least four more months of classroom work before he is able to take a break and earn more money, the four bursaries that Deuling was provided will help make his first year manageable.

Deuling will speak on behalf of students at the annual Selkirk College Bursary Tea that takes place at Mary Hall on the Tenth Street Campus on Feb. 3. More than $120,000 in needs-based bursaries will be handed out to 130 students on the afternoon.