Campus Connection

In high school Nicole Lynch was at the top of her class. She was also taking the lead at the local Culver’s, working as manager 40-70 hours a week and well into the evening hours on school nights. Nicole had good intentions — she was saving up for college, but her mother, Cindy, worried maybe she was working a little too much and should slow down. “She said, ‘No mom, ‘I’m having fun. I love to work,’” recalls Cindy. That love of hard work is now paying off for the UWL freshman. Nicole earned a freshman Eagle Apprentice program scholarship and was notified in fall that she earned another, the Stuart Morton McIlraith Scholarship. The latter scholarship is the same one Cindy, ’89, earned about 27 years ago while she was a UWL student. Both mother and daughter were surprised at the news that they’d attained the same financial gift — just decades apart. “It makes me proud to see her recognized and to know that others are seeing how dedicated she is,” says Cindy. The Stuart Morton Mcllraith Scholarship is given to a UWL student with strong academics. Nicole says her mother inspired her to do well in school. It’s weird to think her mother was walking this same campus as a student years ago, adds Nicole. Cindy spent most of her days in Cowley Hall, UWL’s science building. She recalls long days with break times spent on the benches in the halls of Cowley with her friends and fellow classmates in the physical therapy program. There they ate, talked, studied, and school became about something bigger than learning from books and lectures. “We were one big family during the entire two years,” recalls Cindy. “I definitely loved UWL … That’s why I wanted my daughter to go there.” [caption id="attachment_5041" align="alignleft" width="200"] Nicole Lynch is a recipient of the The Stuart Morton Mcllraith Scholarship[/caption] In high school, Nicole noticed her mother’s gentle nudges to attend her alma mater, but says her mother never pushed and the final decision was her own. Nicole learned of UWL’s reputable science program and she liked the ambience of campus as well. Like any freshman there was some fear of the unknown before she started, but that’s now faded. She is as busy and involved as she was in high school with a job at the front desk of her residence hall, participation in the pre-Physician Assistant club and plans to log clinical hours by becoming a certified nursing assistant. “It’s been fun to watch her succeed and get comfortable,” says Cindy. “I’m a proud mom. I’m happy for her.” Nicole intends to study physician assistant in grad school and eventually wants to become a PA. Her mother is now a physical therapist.