Posted:
November 07, 2019
Congratulations to our 2019 Alumni Legacy Scholarship recipient, Tonicia Maleski
The Alumni Legacy Scholarship is awarded each year to a student who, through family relationships, has a strong connection to Century College and affinity for its alumni. It was created in 2009 by the Alumni Association Board of Directors, and endowed in 2016, thanks to the contributions of numerous alumni, Century employees, and community members, and a generous matching donation from Lakewood alum and past Alumni Association board member, Steve Ritt and the Ritt Family Foundation.
Tonicia Maleski is the 2019 recipient of the Alumni Legacy Scholarship. Growing up, Tonicia’s hero was her father, a flight paramedic. At first she wanted nothing to do with EMS (Emergency Medical Services), but the older she got, the more intrigued she became. She ended up following in her dad’s footsteps – first taking an EMT class, then joining the company he worked for, and finally enrolling in Century’s paramedic program, nearly 30 years after her dad did, which she completed in 2013.
Tonicia met her husband, Mike, in the paramedic program, and they both currently serve as paramedics (and Mike as a firefighter as well). They love being paramedics, but their dreams of starting a family were shadowed by the fact that having both parents in this dangerous profession would be unfair to their children. So Tonicia decided to re-enroll at Century in the nursing program.
Still working part time as a paramedic and studying full time in the nursing program, Tonicia is grateful that the Alumni Legacy Scholarship has allowed her to focus intently on earning her RN degree at Century, so she can transfer to a four-year university for her BSN. Tonicia’s goal is to one day be an emergency room nurse, flight nurse, or an ICU nurse. She will graduate with her RN degree this May.
Congratulations on earning the Alumni Legacy Scholarship Tonicia, well deserved!