Gary Ross graduated from Gillespie High School in 2015, earning a $500 Carroll-Keupper Family Scholarship from The Partnership for Educational Excellence.
“I began my education at St. Louis University (SLU) to pursue pre-medicine,” Gary recalls. Not convinced that he was at the right institution and on the right path, he left SLU after one year and enrolled at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (SIUE) to explore a different major. By the fall of 2017 he had found his calling and entered Lewis and Clark Community College (LCCC) to pursue a career in nursing.
“I am currently studying to receive my BSN (Bachelor of Science-Nursing),” he says. “I will then go on to purse a Nurse Practitioner degree.”
Gary’s work history includes working at Lake Williamson Christian Center in Carlinville, as a life guard and desk attendant. His responsibilities involve “managing and assisting guests at the resort’s beach and pool facilities, as well as their time at Lake Williamson’s activity center and conference rooms.”
As he moves ahead with his nursing degree, Gary plans to “jump into my field by being a CNA (Certified Nurse Assistant) or nurse tech in hospitals”.
In his free time, Gary enjoys golf, reading, fishing and intramural sports.
As to the importance of post-secondary education in his life, he notes: “It has given me the opportunity to pursue my life goal of working in the medical field.”
The Partnership’s scholarship “has relieved a lot of worries when it comes to the price of college education,” Gary says. “Thanks again for the scholarship and the help it has given me.”
Gary is the son of Jay and Ann Marie Bauer Ross of Gillespie.