Meet Ally Niven, 2018 Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick Child of an American Veteran Scholarship Winner
Congratulations to Ms. Ally Niven, winner of the 2018 Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick Child of an American Veteran Scholarship. Ms. Niven, 18, is a nursing student at the Milwaukee School of Engineering in Wisconsin. In her scholarship-winning essay, Ms. Niven wrote movingly of her father, Lee Niven, a retired Army Captain who served for 18 years.
When Ms. Niven was 8, her father had a stroke. “Our family’s world was thrown upside down,” she wrote. He recovered and was soon deployed to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Lee Niven returned from deployment with PTSD and the family had to adjust.
Ms. Niven wrote that even something as simple as a Fourth of July celebration would never be the same. Still, the Niven family, which includes stepmother Lisa Niven, has successfully overcome these changes and challenges, and Ally credits the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs for helping to guide them through this adjustment.
Her father has inspired her with his courage and duty to this country, Ms. Niven wrote. In her essay, she identified the three traits of a good soldier that also make for a good nurse: respect, hard work, and empathy for others.
“His hard work and struggles have inspired me to give back to as many people as I can and to especially have love and respect for the men and women who selflessly give themselves to the greater cause, America’s freedom,” she wrote.
Ms. Niven has ambitious, long-term goals that include working for the VA and pursuing graduate education. Initially, she would like to return home to Dunbar, Wis., and work at the Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center in nearby Iron Mountain, Mich., before pursuing a doctorate degree in nursing.
As part of our commitment to serving the veterans’ community, Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick offers the Child of an American Veteran Scholarship to any child of a U.S. veteran who is enrolled or about to attend an accredited U.S. university or college. Applicants must have a cumulative 3.0 grade point average and write a 500-word essay. The deadline to apply for the 2019 scholarship is Dec. 15, 2019. For more information, check out our website.
Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick LTD is a nationally renowned Providence, R.I.-based law firm that focuses on Veterans Law, ERISA Law and Insurance Litigation and Bequest Management. For more information, contact us at 401-331-6300.
