Dr. Paul Tschetter

Established in 2002 by Dr. Paul Tschetter, this scholarship was created in memory of his beloved wife, Elaine Roccapriore Tschetter. As Elaine was a long-time member of the CON faculty, Paul was head of Graduate Studies.

Elaine Tschetter was an avid gardener and radiant personality who was diagnosed with liver cancer in 1994. By 1996 doctors found the primary tumor at the head of the pancreas in the common bile duct, which was inoperable because of the previous liver cancer. She fought for a long time with more than 100 treatments, chemotherapy, and new drugs, hoping they would buy her time until researchers found other ways to treat her cancer.

Her determination to not let cancer ruin her life earned her the first annual Hero Award at the 1995 Cancer Survivors Day. She claimed that she was no more of a hero than anyone else dealing with cancer and that every survivor is a hero.

The purpose of this scholarship is to provide support to a worthy graduate nursing student who plans to pursue his/her interest in oncology.