Make an Impact
Mike endows a scholarship to help students finish nursing school without financial burden
In 1976, fresh from earning his business degree, Mike Senchak was offered an orderly job by the Sisters of the Humility of Mary at Mercy Health St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital, where he found his calling caring for others.
Later, while pursuing his nursing degree, no financial assistance was available. So Mike worked to put himself through nursing school.
“I parlayed that into a wonderful 22-year career,” he recalls. “I started as an orderly and left as a vice president.”
To help pay it forward, Mike endowed a scholarship so nurses can further their educations without the financial burden he faced.
“I’m a lifelong resident of the area. My hope is that some who need help in school will stay in the area and take care of me, as I am now in my silver years.”
Mike wants future students to have the same experience he did, minus the financial worry. “My career was a blessing, and I owe a lot of that to Mercy Health and the fine people there.” The scholarship is a gift and a responsibility. “I grew up with the Sisters of the Humility of Mary, and we were always taught to serve the underserved.”