Warner receives respiratory therapy scholarship
Dustin Warner, a National Park College student who recently received a $1,800 Lawrence Respiratory Foundation scholarship, said it felt “good” to receive it and that it would help ease the burden on his wife.
“My wife pays for all my school, she works for Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield, and she’s putting me through college at this point,” he said. “So, it kind of helps her relax and takes some financial burden off the family with me winning it.”
When Warner heard he won the scholarship, he did not believe it because he felt other students “were in it to win it.”
“I did not dress for the occasion when I won it, either. I just came off a boat from fishing,” he said, noting his story might have been a factor in him winning.
“I have a daughter that was born with pulmonary hypertension. She was in (Arkansas) Children’s for a while. She was on ECMO and (a) different ventilator, and so I got into respiratory therapy from seeing it firsthand, not from reading about it or anything. I get to spend time with my daughter,” Warner said.
Warner said he is used to working outside and playing in the dirt, but now has to go into a hospital and see everything that goes on.
“It challenges you because you have to critically think about what you’re doing because you have somebody’s life in your hand when you’re in there,” Warner said.
Paul Lowe, NPC program director of the Department of Respiratory Care, said he knew Warner was not the typical student that comes to college straight after high school, noting students are changing their lives for the better.
“Respiratory therapy gives them a chance, and I tell them that it will change their life. You will be able to do and see things that you’ve never seen before. When Dustin came, he told me the story about his little girl having trouble when she was born. … He had told me that story and how important it was for him to get through this program and to be able to help other children because of what the group did for his child. … Obviously, he’s a very good student, and he’s going to do very well once he gets out and starts to practice,” he said.
Warner wants future students that are thinking about going into respiratory therapy to put their heart into it.
“Make sure it’s what you want to do before you get started because it’s a rough road. (Lowe) makes it tough, but he brings out the best in us. He wants to make sure that we’re in it not for money, but because it’s what we want to do and we want to help people,” Warner said.
Warner is expected to graduate in May 2022 and will go to University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences online to complete his bachelor’s degree.