Ian Dustan Memorial Nursing Scholarship

I have been given much and want to give much back.  Scholarships to enable compassionate people to become pediatric nurses seem perfectly right to me.  There is no better vehicle than the nursing program at Harper College to help educate those who already desire to administer loving care to sick and injured children. I created this scholarship in memory of Ian, a very special boy with no opportunity for a normal, extended life who bravely made the very best of his circumstances. He didn’t dwell on the unfairness of his life.  Instead he demonstrated love to all with the spirit and imagination a few of us ever show.  Ian made so many grateful for what they have when he had so little, except for the kind medical care he received, and the love of his family and others who recognized how exceptional he was.  Harper is in the business of education.  What I learned from Harper, as a Harper Foundation board member for several years, is the existence of pervasive and profound needs, often hidden, of so many students for assistance under challenging personal and family circumstances to allow them to continue their education at Harper. 

I hope that recipients know that a total stranger deeply cares about their success and future to be able to use the skills they learn at Harper to provide expert care to helpful, suffering kids with resulting best outcomes for them.

Jim M., Founding Scholarship Donor