Even in high school, people in crisis were drawn to Rochelle Wolf, RN.

She had a way of helping friends and family look at problems from a different perspective. She could help them see their way over insurmountable obstacles or through hopeless situations.

Wolf, who graduated in May from the Central Maine Community College Nursing Program at LincolnHealth in Damariscotta, is now a psychiatric nurse at the Riverview Psychiatric Center in Augusta. She hopes eventually to become a mental health nurse practitioner.

“I want to help others and be a source of recovery,” said Wolf, the first recipient of the St. Andrews Auxiliary’s Fran Hale Scholarship.

Graduating from nursing school and getting her first job in her chosen field is a huge step, but for Wolf, who raised her son as a single mom and became a grandmother a few months ago at 44, much of the satisfaction comes from knowing what her achievement means for her family.

“It is like I have been building the ladder and now I am on it,” she said. “Now I will be able to be that role model for my family, not just my son but my granddaughter too as she grows.”

Receiving the Fran Hale Scholarship played a big role in helping Wolf achieve her dream. Like many graduates of the CMCC Nursing Program at the LincolnHealth Education Center, she chose nursing after exploring other careers first.

Fran Hale was a long-time St. Andrews Auxiliary member, volunteer, and life-long educator who made a career of pushing back the barriers that limited others. She was the first director of special services for the Cumberland school system, superintendent of schools in Falmouth and Pownal and winner of a Ford Foundation Fellowship. With her husband Don, she created a summer camp on their 50-acre farm for children with learning disabilities by building a 50-foot pool and renovating their barn.  

Fran Hale was a mentor to others throughout her life. Her gift to the St Andrews Auxiliary became a scholarship for the CMCC Nursing Program, continuing to improve the lives of others.

The first collaboration of its kind in Maine, the CMCC/LincolnHealth Nursing Program in Damariscotta has graduated seven classes of nurses since 2008.  Distance learning technology allows students to take courses based at the Auburn Campus of CMCC while sitting in a classroom at the LincolnHealth Education Center in Damariscotta.

Students range in age from their early 20s to mid-50s. Many are older adults who are going to school for the first time or are returning to college to change careers. Many, like Wolf, also have families. 

Because older students often come to school with families and obligations, the Fran Hale Scholarship can be especially important. For Wolf, the scholarship was a vital piece of the financial puzzle.

Thanks to the scholarship and the support she received at the school, Wolf and her fiancé can now buy a house and plan for the future. She knows the learning curve for new nurses is a steep one but Wolfe feels well prepared.

“I still have a lot to learn but this laid the foundation,” said Wolf.

For more information about the CMCC Nursing Program at LincolnHealth or about the St. Andrews Auxiliary’s Fran Hale Scholarship, please call 563-4540.