Miranda Melo feels well prepared for her nursing career. Her past clinical rotations included working at Lowell General Hospital, Winchester Hospital, Holy Family Hospital and the Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of New England.

The scholarships and financial aid Ruchika received from UMass Lowell helped tremendously in keeping her education affordable.

In her career of nearly 50 years, Diane Mahoney has cared for patients in hospitals and in homes, developed training programs for hospital personnel and families, taught college students and received millions of dollars in grant funding to conduct research.

Originally planning to become a doctor, when Wendy Sanchez received the Tsongas Scholarship to UMass Lowell as a high school senior, she decided to pursue nursing instead. The high achiever who turned hardship into success has no regrets.