KEARNEY – The University of Nebraska at Kearney recently accepted 46 high school seniors into the Kearney Health Opportunities Program (KHOP).
A partnership between UNK and the University of Nebraska Medical Center, KHOP is a pipeline program designed to grow the state’s health care workforce by recruiting and training students from rural Nebraska who are committed to practicing in these areas after professional school.
Participants are awarded full-tuition scholarships to attend UNK and guaranteed admission to UNMC if all requirements are met.
They receive additional assistance, along with a $2,000 room waiver, through the KHOP Learning Community. A requirement for freshmen, the one-year residential learning community gives students a chance to explore various health care careers while receiving support and guidance as they transition to college. KHOP members also meet with health care providers and tour medical facilities in the Kearney area.
“We are very excited to welcome this highly talented and exceptional group of students into the KHOP program next fall,” said Peggy Abels, director of UNK Health Sciences. “It is great to see these future professionals dedicated to providing high-quality health care for rural Nebraska.”
Launched in 2010, KHOP addresses an urgent need for health care providers in rural Nebraska. More than 100 UNK students are currently receiving their pre-professional training through the program.
KHOP students can study in the fields of dental hygiene, dentistry, medical laboratory science, medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant and radiography.
For more information on the program, visit unk.edu/khop, call 308-865-8260 or email abelsp@unk.edu.
The following students, listed by hometown, will start the Kearney Health Opportunities Program this fall:
Ainsworth – Haley Schroedl, nursing
Bee – Audrey Belew, physical therapy
Blair – Ashlyn Just, pharmacy
Brady – Kate Stienike, pharmacy
Broken Bow – Callie White, nursing
Central City – Ella Buhlke, medicine
Clarkson – Mitchel Beeson, nursing
Columbus – Abagail Loeffelholz, occupational therapy
Columbus – Christopher Adame-Hernandez, medicine
David City – Ella Moravec, nursing
David City – Meredith Dalton, physical therapy
Dodge – Kennady Schmidt, medicine
Doniphan – Carter Schultz, pharmacy
Dwight – Nolan Kocian, medical laboratory science
Elm Creek – Brady Spotanski, pharmacy
Eustis – Creighton Hecox, pharmacy
Gordon – Madison Petersen, occupational therapy
Grand Island – Brandon Hollister, medicine
Grand Island – Cole Bauer, physician assistant
Grand Island – Isaac Herbek, pharmacy
Grand Island – Jonathan Schardt, dentistry
Grand Island – Marcus Holling, dentistry
Grand Island – Taylor Paul, physical therapy
Greeley – Dilynn Wood, medicine
Hastings – Kiernan Bierman, pharmacy
Holdrege – McCartney Elliott, pharmacy
Juniata – Abby Stroh, pharmacy
Kearney – Lia Cool, radiography
Kearney – Meghan Dahlke, occupational therapy
Kearney – Quinten Shaffer, medicine
Kearney – Sydney Peterson, dentistry
Lexington – Angel Perez-Cabello, dentistry
Lexington – Cordelia Harbison, medicine
Lexington – Malinda Lo, medicine
McCook – Addison Knoll, dental hygiene
Minden – Brooks Glanzer, radiography
Norfolk – Tobias Kraft, medicine
Raymond – Alora Ferguson, dental hygiene
Raymond – Danielle Fortik, dentistry
Seward – Myka Smith, nursing
Silver Creek – Kamryn Lemburg, nursing
Utica – Gracen Fehlhafer, dental hygiene
Utica – Lance Haberman, radiography
York – Brynn Hirschfeld, dentistry
York – Cori Combs, dental hygiene
York – Melanie Driewer, occupational therapy
