Florence Eddie
Basil Paterson Scholar, Social Work
2019 Awardee
Florence Eddie immigrated to the United States from Nigeria in 2010. She has spent the past ten years working as a Home Health Aide for Partners in Care, during which time she realized that she wanted to spend her career helping others.
She chose to pursue social work because of the broad range of academic and professional opportunities it offers to help individuals, families, and communities.
She recently completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work at Medgar Evers College. She is now continuing her education at Stony Brook University, pursuing a Master’s in Social Work.
“Receiving this scholarship has taken away the struggles of paying tuition. It also has helped me maintain good grades. It has helped make it possible for me to fulfill my biggest dream in life – completing my education.”
Success Stories
Dalia Barbos
Dalia Barbos 2019 Awardee Dalia Barbos emigrated from Romania in 2005 with her husband, leaving behind a career as a geography teacher for elementary, middle, and high school students. She has been employed as a home health aide by Region Care Nursing Agency for the...
Jamila Zanfara
Jamila Zanfara Jamila Zanfara, worked as a Home Health Aide for six years before becoming a Registered Nurse in 2020 with support from the Basil Paterson Scholarship. She spent several months on a COVID unit at the beginning of the pandemic and now works in the...
Linda Henry
For as far back as she can remember, Linda Henry has loved school, but, unfortunately, there have always been barriers to furthering her education. Her father was a cane cutter in Guyana, where she was raised, and her mother supplemented the family income by...
Abiwaqqas Laryea
Abiwaqqas Laryea, a 2015 scholarship awardee, discovered his passion for caregiving at an early age, caring for his father. “Abby” now works as a home health aide while attending college, majoring in nursing. He cares for his live-in client beginning Friday morning at...
Maritza Crespo-Trahey
Maritza Crespo-Trahey is originally from Colombia and came to the United States 30 years ago. She started working for Premier Home Health Care in 2013. From a very young age, Maritza was given the responsibility of caring for her grandmother. Through this experience,...
Dian Scott
Dian Scott Basil Paterson Scholar, Registered Nurse 2014 Awardee “I am a proud alumna of the 1199SEIU Home Care Industry Education Fund. In the summer of 2014, I graduated from the College of Staten Island with an Associate’s degree in Nursing. And in October, I...