BIDDEFORD — This past winter, the Southern Maine Health Care Auxiliary lost a special past president, Carolyn Walker, who contributed countless hours as a hospital volunteer in the Women’s Center, Emergency Department, and most recently as co-chair of the Auxiliary Gift Shop.

During Walker’s tenure as Auxiliary president, the Employee Recognition Scholarship was established. At the Auxilary’s Annual Meeting, current President Jennifer Paige announced that going forward the scholarship would be presented in honor of Walker and that the first recipients of the Carolyn F. Walker Auxiliary Scholarship for Employee Recognition were Maria Flanders and Nicole Desrosier.

“This scholarship recognizes the dedicated service of SMHC employees and helps them further their education,” said Paige. “Carolyn knew the importance of helping others and wanted to reinvest in SMHC’s greatest asset ”“ their people ”“ which in turn benefits our community.” 

Paige also expressed her gratitude to Auxilians Joan Dawson, Joan Gordon, Chair Denise LaRoche and Diane Lovejoy, who coordinated the application process and interviewed the potential recipients.

Walker’s daughter, Susan Fraser, and sister, June Doherty, presented both Flanders and Desrosier with a $1,000 scholarship to be used for expenses and tuition incurred in the enrollment in a credit-bearing, post-secondary course.

Flanders works as a full-time medical assistant at SMHC Internal Medicine in Biddeford. She is currently attending York County Community College as a part-time student, working towards her degree as a registered nurse.

Desrosier works as an Emergency Department technician at SMHC’s Medical Center in Sanford. She is currently attending the University of Maine at Fort Kent as a full-time student, working towards her degree in Health Care Administration/Nursing.

In accepting their scholarships, the recipients were deeply grateful for the financial assistance given to them by the Auxiliary in order to continue their studies. They were thankful for the Auxiliary’s confidence in them and are excited to pursue the next levels of their respective goals in education.