DFW Great 100 Nurses Scholarship

The DFW Great 100 Nurses Scholarship program provides four (two bachelor and two graduate) $1,000 scholarships annually to outstanding nursing students in baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs in the DFW area.  All applicants must be residents of the DFW metroplex and must be currently enrolled in a baccalaureate or masters program.

Congratulations to our 2025 DFW Great 100 Nurse Scholarship Recipients!

BSN Students:

Aleena Kalleli is a nursing student at Texas Women’s University. She is originally from Kerala, India, but has spent her early years in Kuwait, embracing diverse cultures. In 2020, her family and her moved to the U.S., a life-changing journey that shaped her perspective. She a nursing major and work as a Patient Care Technician at UT Southwestern, where she is a witness to the resilience of patients daily. Volunteering at a hospice deepened Aleena’s compassion, teaching me the importance of dignity in end-of-life care. These experiences have strengthened her passion for nursing, shaping her into a more empathetic and dedicated caregiver.

Serena Karim is an honors nursing student and Bill Archer Fellow at the University of Texas at Arlington. After graduation, Serena hopes to become a critical care nurse and earn a DNP and PhD to influence health and science policy through bioethics research.

Graduate Students:

Remigio Acevedo, BSN, RN, CCRN, is a BSN-to-DNP Family Practice student at the University of Texas Cizik School of Nursing and a past recipient of the 2024 DFW Great 100 Nurses. A Surgical-Trauma ICU nurse at Parkland Health, he is on track to graduate in August 2025 and is committed to advancing equitable, evidence-based care as a future nurse practitioner.

Jennifer Fuka, BSN, RN, CCRN-CSC, is a MSN student at the University of Texas at Arlington. She is a Nursing Professional Development Practitioner at UT Southwestern who has been an RN for 8 years, practicing predominantly in the cardiovascular ICU. For the last 2 years, Jennifer has been an educator along with her role at the bedside, creating and implementing pertinent cardiovascular education for bedside staff. Educational endeavors have included emergency re-sternotomy training, improving time to first defibrillation, and end tidal CO2 monitoring.