Earn to Learn: Scholarship program guarantees jobs for healthcare students

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ore. — Aviva Health has partnered with Umpqua Community College to help increase health care staffing in Douglas County.

The Earn to Learn Scholarship is part of an education program created by both organizations that would help bring new health care professionals to the area.

Students who were awarded the scholarship received funding for tuition, fees, a living stipend, and guaranteed employment at Aviva.

Aviva Health says this opportunity is a prime example of how the organization works to provide more resources and job opportunities.

“We are in a rural area where the need for health care professionals is never ending. With that, I was tasked with building an internal program to help medical assistants be successful here… bring them in and keep them here,” Aviva Learning and Development Manager Carla Polk said.

The grant-funded program will provide tuition assistance and guaranteed employment for 24 students enrolled in one of UCC’s Allied Health curriculum programs over the course of three years.

Those programs include licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, medical assistants, phlebotomists, and dental assistants.

Izabella Rodriguez, one of the eight students who completed the program this spring and works at Aviva, said she finds the program worthwhile, while she works on her dentistry degree.

“I’m learning everyday, more knowledge is coming to me every single day. The fact that I’m working here every day, learning new things — I work alongside doctors and hygienists. I just look up to them so much and that’s what I want to keep focusing on,” Rodriguez said.

The Earn to Learn Scholarship Program will wrap up in 2026, upon the students’ graduation.

To learn more about the program, visit UCC’s website.