Emporia Presbyterian Manor
OCTOBER 2021
Employee Scholarship Program keeps Xavier Ard on track to reach career goals Xavier Ard has big plans for his future— but big plans often come with a big price tag. Lucky for Xavier he recently got a little help to cover the tab thanks to financial assistance through PMMA’s Employee Scholarship program. “As it turns out, one of the biggest issues with getting an education is you have to pay for it—it’s not cheap,” said Xavier. “Ideally I’m hoping to get through as much as I can without taking out loans. So, any education assistance I can get is beneficial to me, and it’s beneficial to the Manor—the more people there are in the medical field, the easier it makes everyone’s life.”
Xavier Ard, administrative assistant and cook, is receiving financial assistance through PMMA’s employee scholarship program.
While Xavier serves the community in a dual role of administrative assistant and cook, he is currently in his second semester of nursing school at Emporia State where he is on course to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in nursing. “Ultimately, I plan to get my CRNA (certified registered nurse anesthesiologist),” said Xavier. “I enjoy surgery and initially, when I first started school, I was studying to be a surgeon. But med school is expensive and a lot of your doctoring in medicine these days is just red tape, and I wasn’t interested in that.”
Kennedy Dragonas, administrative assistant, is a PMMA scholarship recipient.
PMMA’s Employee Scholarship Program places focus on the future Administrative Assistant Kennedy Dragonas recently received financial aid through the PMMA® Employee Scholarship program to put toward her education at Washburn University, which she says will alleviate potential distractions outside of the classroom. “This education assistance will allow me to focus on my education without having to stress and worry about the financial obligations of college, giving me the chance to fully focus on my classes and my class work,” said Kennedy.
Between work and the demands of school, Xavier has little time for anything else.
Majoring in social work, Kennedy’s career goal is to work in a long-term care community or hospice organization.
“What free time I have I spend reading, sleeping and eating—but there’s not a whole lot of free time to go around,” said Xavier. “The way I look at it, the
She is extremely appreciative of the faith Presbyterian Manors has
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