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Maria Nursing Scholarship Remembers a Lifetime of Care and Compassion

Scholarships

Andrea Lewis Siek Endowed Nursing Scholarships

Andrea Lewis SiekALBANY, NY—Richard Siek, a Troy native, has endowed nursing scholarships at Maria College to continue his wife, Andrea Lewis Siek’s legacy, who passed away in March 2017. She graduated from St. Peter’s Hospital Diploma School of Nursing in 1969 and was a RN at Samaritan Hospital until 1977.  

Richard Siek states, “Andrea wanted to become a nurse to help people — her whole life she helped people, even after she retired from nursing,” he said. “She always enjoyed the people, and strived to help, and in my book she succeeded tremendously for the compassionate care she gave her patients and for the many acts of kindness, she offered friends, family, colleagues, and even strangers.”

After Andrea’s death, it was important for Rich to memorialize his wife’s nursing vocation by establishing the scholarships at Maria College because of its shared roots with Andrea’s alma mater nursing school. The Maria College associate degree in nursing program is the successor of the St. Peter’s Hospital nursing diploma school; a decision made by the Sisters of Mercy in 1970 to provide students with both a liberal arts and a nursing education.

The Andrea Lewis Siek Endowed Scholarships at Maria College will train future generations of nurses. Scholarship recipients must be nursing majors who show financial need and maintain a strong GPA. Because they are endowed scholarships, they will go on in perpetuity. Each year the Andrea Lewis Siek scholarships will help bright and hard-working nursing students at Maria College. 

Dr. Thomas Gamble, Maria College president stated, “We are humbled and deeply appreciative that Rich has chosen Maria College to help honor Andrea’s legacy through these scholarships. Andrea’s incredible work ethic and compassion for others will live on through deserving students who will benefit from his generosity.”

Read more about Richard Siek’s gift and Andrea Lewis Siek’s legacy.

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About Maria College
Founded in 1958, Maria College is one of 17 colleges and universities in the United States sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas.  The private, co-educational, Catholic college in Albany serves almost 800 students in a variety of degree and certificate programs including liberal arts, healthcare management, nursing, occupational therapy assistant, and health and occupational sciences. Maria College prepares students for meaningful careers in healthcare and service so they can make a difference in the lives of others.