This two-year program is available to 75 of West Virginia's health professions students interested in rural health care across the state.
Additionally, RCH Scholars focuses on interprofessional education through clinical, didactic and community-based lenses, and emphasizes how each Scholar can create change and reshape the status quo for health care in his/ her/their community.
Throughout this program, Scholars will engage in clinical, didactic and community-based activities in rural and underserved areas of West Virginia to refine their skill sets and positively impact the lives of West Virginians.
As a Scholar, students will:
• Become leaders in their professions and communities.
Receive supplemental training and education from experts in rural healthcare.
• Develop an astute understanding of how best to implement health care services in rural or underserved areas.
• Learn how to work as part of an interprofessional team.
• Provide meaningful patient care in the field and gain hands-on experience.
• Receive a participation award of $1,300 upon program completion.
Interested applicants should have an interest in rural health, a minimum 3.0 GPA and have at least two years remaining in his/her/their degree program. The new class of accepted Scholars will begin the program Oct. 1 and complete it in May 2024.
Health professions students in the following areas are eligible to apply:
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Dentistry
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Dental Hygiene
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Health Informatics and Information Management
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Medicine
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Nursing
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Nutrition/Dietetics
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Occupational Therapy
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Pharmacy
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Physical Therapy
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Physician Assistant
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Public/Population Health Programs
Contact us if you do not see your discipline listed; you may still be eligible to participate.
Preference will be awarded to those students who apply by the early admission deadline of July 16. The regular application deadline is Sept. 15
Isabella Ferrell, an international studies major from Morgantown High School who believes that the real impetus for change in the world are insights gained by combining history and politics research, aspires to attend law school and ultimately serve as a United States diplomat.
Savannah Jones, a journalism major from Lincoln High School who believes a career in news writing will allow her to connect people to the world and help bring about positive change, aspires to become a travel writer to promote global awareness and cross-cultural understanding.
Julia Leyden, a history major minoring in biology from Morgantown High School whose passion to eradicate health inequities was propelled by stories of sickle cell disease and “Cancer Alley,” aspires to become a civil rights attorney.
Emma Fleming, a dual English and Spanish major from Parkersburg High School who enjoys writing poetry and movie reviews, aspires to become a lawyer and fiction writer fluent in Spanish to help break down cultural barriers and allow others to see the world through a more diverse lens.
Physics majors, Sarah Warder from Pocahontas County High School, a first-generation college student who always had an interest in space and overcame her fear of physics through the encouragement of her engineering and robotics teacher, will start her journey to becoming an astronomer. Inspired by his teacher’s old school teaching methods, Luke Watson from University High, who is considering a minor in education or music, plans to eventually teach in a STEM-related field at the university level.
The Neil S. Bucklew Scholarship is named after WVU’s 20th president and is valued at $40,000, providing its recipients with $10,000 per year over four years to be used toward educational costs. All Bucklew Scholars have qualified for the Honors College at WVU, and the scholarship may be used in addition to the state’s PROMISE Scholarship.
Scholarships are part of the University’s comprehensive awards program and are supported, in part, by the WVU Foundation, the private non-profit corporation that generates, receives and administers private gifts for the benefit of W V U.
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