Zahra Abdille was the first Nurse Practitioner with our Geriatric Assessment and Intervention Network (GAIN) community team. As one of the first members of our team, she became highly regarded for her clinical skills and kind, gentle nature. Her friendliness, knowledge, and professionalism made her a valued member of our community.
November 29 marks the heartbreaking deaths of Zahra and her two sons, Faris and Zain. In memory of our esteemed colleague, St. Paul's L'Amoreaux Centre and the Nurse Practitioners' Association of Ontario (NPAO) joined to honour Zahra Abdille and her children by creating a scholarship for those who follow in her footsteps to become a Nurse Practitioner.
2016 Zahra Abdille Scholarship Recipient
This year, St. Paul's L'Amoreaux Centre awarded this scholarship to Terri Quayle. She recently completed the Primary Health Care Nurse program at Western University and looks forward to receiving her registration with the College of Nurses in the extended class. It is through dedication that she was able to achieve her dream of becoming an NP (Nurse Practitioner) despite having significant economic and social hardships.
Terri came into the NP program as a mature student in her forties, became separated from her significant other in the second year of the program, and has continued to raise her 5 year old daughter as a single mother with little financial support and almost no income.
This past year has meant many sacrifices for both Terri and her daughter, as well as her elderly parents who took them in, in order for Terri to pursue her dream of becoming an NP. Terri looks forward to beginning practice as an NP and being able to provide a happy and stable future for her daughter whom she describes as her biggest passion and love of her life.
2015 Zahra Abdille Scholarship Recipient
Ms. Laurie Highfield graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 2009 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing. Since graduating, Laurie has worked in various areas of pediatrics at Children’s Hospital in London Ontario, caring for children from infancy to adulthood with multiple illnesses and injuries. She also volunteers with ChildCan, Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, and Camp Oochigeas which provides the opportunity for children with cancer to attend camp.
Over the past few years Laurie felt the desire to have a larger role in the care of children and their families. She wanted to have the opportunity to take care of the family as a whole and follow them during the course of their life journey, promoting health, offering support and providing education throughout. To fulfill this goal she returned to the University of Western Ontario in September 2014 to attend the combined Masters of Nursing and COUPN Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner Program.
If you would like to help students like Laurie and Terri advance their education with the help of this scholarship, please consider a donation to the 2016 Zahra Abdille and Children Scholarship, which can be made here.
