Emily Zimmerman of Cary awarded dual University of Illinois Springfield scholarships

Emily Zimmerman, a resident of Cary, and medical laboratory science major at the University of Illinois Springfield, has been awarded the Central Illinois Community Blood Center Scholarship and the Health Professions Scholarship for the 2019-2020 academic year.

Zimmerman said an interest in medical television shows in her youth, and her AP Biology class in high school, led her to UIS, where she discovered she could major in laboratory science.

“It is so unique and only offered at a few schools,” she said. Zimmerman plans to pursue a Medical Laboratory Scientist certification upon graduation.

She said one of her most memorable times at UIS was volunteering with her Medical Laboratory Science Club for the MLK Day of Service at the Ronald McDonald House in Springfield. “It was so rewarding,” she said. “It was also an interesting perspective for the MLS Club because we are normally behind the scenes of the treatment of these children and that day, we were behind the scenes in a different way.”

The Central Illinois Blood Center Scholarship is awarded to a deserving junior or senior student enrolled full-time in the medical laboratory science program at UIS. The scholarship is designed to encourage qualified students to pursue careers as blood banking and transfusion medicine technologists.

The Health Professions Scholarship was established to benefit deserving students seeking a degree in the health sciences.

For more information on scholarships, contact the UIS Office of Financial Assistance at 217/206-6724 or finaid@uis.edu. For a full list of scholarship opportunities visit uis.edu/financialaid/scholarships.