Marine, Mechanic, Nurse and Scholar—Laura Tolver receives Pat Tillman Foundation scholarship
Edgewater Park resident Laura Tolver has been named a Tillman Scholar by the Pat Tillman Foundation. A student in the doctor of nursing practice (DNP) program at Rutgers University–Camden in New Jersey, she is one of only five nursing students, and only 61 students overall, to earn this highly competitive scholarship.
Additionally, Tolver is one of two students attending Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, to receive this award. No other New Jersey university or college received a Tillman Scholarship in 2017.
Founded in 2008, the Tillman Scholars program supports active-duty service members, veterans, and military spouses through scholarship support covering direct study-related expenses, including tuition and fees, books, and living expenses.
Tolver began her service in the U.S. Marine Corps in 2011. She was named recruit training honor graduate, received meritorious masts, and was awarded Squadron Marine of the Quarter. Stationed in North Carolina, she was an aircraft mechanic on the MV-22 Osprey.
It was her family ties that led Tolver to pursue a career in nursing. 
She was honorably discharged from the USMC in order to care for her father, who had suffered an anoxic brain injury. “For the first few months, I spent virtually every minute of every day in the hospital, interacting with his doctors and nurses,” she recalls. “I saw the care that he was getting, and I really wanted to be part of that for someone else.”
Tolver also was a support for her mother, who suffered from congenital heart defects and renal disease. But it was her grandmother’s example that ultimately compelled her to enroll in the accelerated bachelor’s degree program at the Rutgers School of Nursing–Camden.
“My grandmother earned her master’s in nursing at a time when African Americans couldn’t practice in most areas of the country,” she says. “Her persistence and passion paid it forward for me, and her struggle taught me the value of dedication.”
After earning a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from Wilmington University, Tolver met with representatives from the Rutgers–Camden nursing school, who connected her with the campus Office of Veterans Affairs. From there, she received the support and encouragement needed to realize her dream of becoming a nurse.
“The veterans services office took care of me. They showed me benefits for vets that I didn’t even know existed, which made my Rutgers degree affordable and accessible,” says Tolver. “If it wasn’t for Fred Davis, the late Josh Piccoli, and the Rutgers–Camden veterans office, I would never have accessed this resource. I would not have been able to grow.”
She encourages student veterans who are transitioning into the world of academia to “really do your research and examine what it is you need out of your university or program.” She adds, “Be understanding of your experiences during service and how they will affect your transition. I knew what I needed and what would and would not work for my life, so be sure of that, too.”
Tolver was inducted into the Athenaeum and Sigma Theta Tau honor societies, and was a member of the Student Veterans Association and the National Student Nurses Association. She also worked with other nursing students by traveling to Haiti to help that country recover from the devastation of Hurricane Matthew.
She says the key to her balancing a hectic school schedule is a simple, old-school planner: “I write every detail of my life in it, even calls and texts I need to return. I color code work, school and clinical schedules, and I cross things off as I complete them. There’s something so gratifying about putting a line through something you set out to do!”
In May, she received her bachelor of science in nursing and is currently is pursuing her doctor of nursing practice degree in adult gerontology. Moreover, Tolver recently launched her professional career as a trauma ICU nurse at Cooper University Hospital in Camden.
“Life experience in any capacity is beneficial,” she says. “If you learned from a situation, consider it tuition.” She advises, “The most important thing in life is to always be self-aware. Be sure of who you are. Don’t allow your life experience to determine your perception of yourself or, inevitably, your purpose. Your life experience is very different from who you are as a person.”
Created to honor Tillman’s legacy of leadership and service, the Pat Tillman Foundation invests in military veterans and their spouses through academic scholarships to build a diverse community of leaders committed to service to others. In 2002, Pat Tillman proudly put his NFL career with the Arizona Cardinals on hold to serve his country. Family and friends established the Pat Tillman Foundation following his death in April 2004 while serving with the 75th Ranger Regiment in Afghanistan.
Source: news.camden.rutgers.edu
