CFK receives $16K endowment for new nursing scholarship

Pictured: Leslie and Miriam Ellison, CFK President Dr. Jonathan Gueverra, Deek and Abby Oglesbee, who is holding a photo of Nettie Lawson Oglesbee, the namesake of the newest nursing scholarship for CFK students.

KEY WEST, FL, October 7, 2025— The College of the Florida Keys Foundation received a $16,000 donation to establish the Nettie Lawson Oglesbee Nursing Scholarship Endowment Fund. Abby and Deek Oglesbee, together with Miriam and Leslie Ellison, created the endowment to award a $500 scholarship each fall and spring semester, beginning spring 2026.

The scholarship honors Nettie Lawson Oglesbee, who pursued her nursing degree later in life, after raising her children, and went on to build a fulfilling career devoted to patient care. Her daughter-in-law Abby, a CFK nursing alumna, former CFK nursing clinical instructor, and former president of the Lower Keys Women’s Club, CFK’s longest-running nursing scholarship donor, was inspired by Nettie to support students following a similar path to nursing later in life.

“When I decided to pursue nursing in my 40s, I thought I was too old, then my husband reminded me that his mother became a nurse at 60 and practiced for nearly a decade,” said Abby Oglesbee, B.S.N., R.N. “Our hope as a family is that the Nettie Lawson Oglesbee Scholarship encourages non-traditional students to follow their dreams in nursing, no matter their age. This profession isn’t about age, it’s about passion and heart.”

Details, criteria, and the application for the Nettie Lawson Oglesbee Nursing Scholarship can be found on the College’s website at https://www.cfk.edu/discover/cfk-foundation/scholarship-info/. The initial deadline to apply for the spring 2026 opportunity is November 2. For assistance with scholarships, contact Shania Duarte-Vera, CFK Coordinator of Alumni and Donor Relations, at 305-809-3153 or [email protected].
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For more information about donating to the College, contact Dr. Lana Gaspari, CFK Vice President of Advancement and CFK Foundation Director, at 305-809-3214 or [email protected]. Gifts to the CFK Foundation are tax-deductible.