Wednesday, May 22, 2002

WILMINGTON, NC – Martin Camacho, a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, received a prestigious Advanced Nurse Traineeship Award from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing.

Camacho, who was selected from a pool of 25 applicants for this $15,000 federal grant, plans to pursue his master’s degree in Pennsylvania’s Adult Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program.

According to Denise Coulter, associate director of financial aid at the University of Pennsylvania, Camacho’s selection was based upon his essay that “reflected his compassion for working with and reaching out to underserved populations.”

Camacho credited UNCW’s nursing faculty for helping enhance his community involvement.

“Prior to coming to UNCW, I had a high level of volunteer experience. Every opportunity that I undertook, from serving as the (nursing) school’s student government representative to conducting food drives for Good Shepherd House, I knew the school supported me,” said Camacho.

Prior to his enrollment at UNCW, Camacho served as a hospital corpsman in the U.S. Navy. During his undergraduate career, he received numerous scholarships and awards including the UNCW Alumni Association and Ministering Circle Scholarships, UNCW Leadership Excellence Award, Senior Medallion, UNCW School of Nursing Outstanding Minority Student Leader Award and the Outstanding Research Award from Sigma Theta Tau, the international nursing honor society.

Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing is among the best in the country. It tied for second place in the U.S. News & World Report survey of graduate schools for 2001.