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Scholarship Support Helps IU School of Nursing Kenyan Doctoral Student, Naomi Mutea, Reach Her Full Potential
Naomi Mutea, MSN, student in IU School of Nursing’s inaugural Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) cohort and faculty member at Moi University School of Medicine,
Department of Nursing, Kenya, has been awarded the P.E.O. International Peace Scholarship. The scholarship provides tuition, fees, books and living expenses, enabling Mutea to continue her DNP studies in Indiana.
Dr. Anna McDaniel, Chancellor’s Professor and Associate Dean for Research, IU School of Nursing, and Mutea’s mentor, nominated her for the award. “Naomi has keen abilities to understand the dynamics of a situation and work to resolve conflict in a respectful, appropriate manner. I have been particularly impressed with her tenacity, collaboration skills and ability to negotiate.”
Mutea came to the United States to escape political unrest in Kenya, barely making it out alive before her house was burned to the ground. She left behind a faculty position, work on her PhD program and a well-established career in nursing. McDaniel says that “Naomi remains devoted to her country and motivated to return to Kenya as a nurse leader and scholar. The doctoral education that Naomi is receiving at Indiana University School of Nursing will prepare her to contribute to raising the standard of nursing education and, ultimately, improving patient care in Kenya. I am honored to know her as a student and colleague.”
P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization) is dedicated to promoting educational opportunities for women. What started as a seven-member friendship society on the campus of Iowa Wesleyan College in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, has grown to a million-member strong organization that offers five different programs to provide higher educational assistance. Recipients of the International Peace Scholarship must be goal-oriented, international women with the potential to return to positions of influence in their homelands.
“I am excited to be awarded the P.E.O. International Peace Scholarship because it will ease my financial burden for the remainder of my study time in the U.S. In addition, it makes me feel accomplished as an international doctoral student for competitively winning the scholarship over other international women students in the U.S. and Canada,” said Mutea.
The Indiana University School of Nursing is one of the largest nursing schools in the nation with programs ranging from the Bachelors in Nursing and eight tracks in the Master’s program to the PhD and DNP. The school was recently ranked #9 for National Institutes of Health funding and U. S. News & World Report ranked the graduate programs 15th in the nation. For more information on the IU School of Nursing, please visit http://nursing.iupui.edu.
