MaryEllen Locher Scholarship Fund applications are now open for 2025-26.
Because of the generosity of many donors, CHI Memorial Foundation is able to offer a variety of scholarships to employees to advance their education in the field of nursing. A total of $18,000 in scholarships were awarded for the 2024-2025 academic year, allowing nine nurses to achieve a first-time degree or advanced nursing degree. Congratulations to the following scholarship recipients:
Kaitlyn Hodson, Friends of CHI Memorial Nursing Scholarship
Sabrina Galindo, Friends of CHI Memorial Nursing Scholarship
Sarah Hughes, Melissa Roden Nursing Scholarship
Valerie Vargo, Schumacher Family Nursing Scholarship
Kandace Grace Kendrick, Melissa Roden Nursing Scholarship
Halle Ingle, Friends of CHI Memorial Nursing Scholarship
Hannah Alexander, Schumacher Family Nursing Scholarship
Paula Finch, Friends of CHI Memorial Nursing Resident Scholarship
Amy Christine Potter, Christine and Henry Little Endowed Nursing Scholarship
Scholarships are available for the community through the MaryEllen Locher Scholarship Fund. Scholarships are available to the children of breast cancer patients--either survivors, those currently in treatment, or deceased. A total of $90,000 was awarded to 31 students for the 2024-2025 academic year.
2024-25 MaryEllen Locher Scholarship Recipients
Madison Grace Markey, Lee University
Sharayah Bay Daves, Belmont University
Margot Kapic, Covenant College
Abigail Grace Allen, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Madison Gross, Bryan College
Anna Thomson, The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Sarah Elizabeth Capps, University of West Georgia
Emily Thomson, East Tennessee State University
Lauren Dorothy Bailey, The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Cali Sandhoff, Covenant College
Ana Grace "Gracie" Pritchett, University of Tennessee-Knoxville
Madison Wade, University of Tennessee-Knoxville
Savannah J Blanks, Dalton State College
Grace McDonald, Maryville College
Jenna Claire Sandhoff, Covenant College
Olivia Hamilton, Universtiy of Georgia
Emma Rachelle Fugate, University of Tennessee at Knoxville
Anna Lisowski, University of Tennessee at Knoxville
Lily Andrews, University of Tennessee-Knoxville
Joshua Corey McBryar, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Sarah Larmon Reed, University of Kentucky
Kyla Pauline Curry, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
Elizabeth R. Malone, Coastal Carolina University
Mark Nashi, Columbia Undergraduate
Allison Baker, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
Mercedes Leeann Mitchell, Georgia Northwestern Technical College
Olivia Grace Orr, East Tennessee State University
Austin Wyatt Martinez, Dalton State College
Destiny Alexis Wheeler, Georgia Northwestern Technical College
About MaryEllen Locher
MaryEllen Locher was a truly inspiring and greatly loved community leader, news personality, wife, mother, and friend. A graduate of Penn State University, she began her journalism career in Pennsylvania. In 1985, she began work at WTVC in Chattanooga, Tennessee as the area's first health reporter. MaryEllen later became co-anchor of the top-rated station's evening news broadcasts. While working as a health reporter, she was diagnosed with cancer and began a battle that would last nearly 20 years and include three bouts with the disease. MaryEllen passed away in 2005 from breast cancer at the age of 45.
Dedicated to both her profession and to community service, MaryEllen received numerous awards for her work in journalism. She was a founding member of the Chattanooga Make-A-Wish Foundation. She started a program called Hats from the Heart, providing comfortable and stylish hats for those who lost their hair while battling cancer. This program is now in hospitals across America. MaryEllen also helped establish the MaryEllen Locher Breast Center at CHI Memorial which bears her name. The MaryEllen Locher Breast Center opened in 2006 and has been nationally recognized for the comprehensive medical care provided in the center.
MaryEllen and her husband, David, were married in 1988 and welcomed their son Alex in 1989. A committed Christian, MaryEllen made no apologies for her faith in Christ and encouraged those around her to put their trust in Him and accept His gift of eternal life.
More in Common Partnership
Supporting students in pursuing careers in medicine is vital to ensure a high quality healthcare system within the community. CHI Memorial partners with several educational institutions to allow rotations with the health system. One of CHI Memorial's key partnerships is with the Morehouse School of Medicine through the More in Common Alliance. This joint initiative between MSM and CommonSpirit will address the underlying causes of health inequity, including underrepresentation of black clinicians.
