OSU-Lima Dean Tim Rehner, left, conducted a brief ceremony Wednesday to announce the creation of the John D. and Norma L. Hubbell Family Scholarship for students studying in health-related fields. Standing with Rehner were Dr. Susan Hubbell, second from left, and scholarship recipients Leah Beraki and Travis Ebbeskotte.
Craig Kelly | The Lima News
LIMA — Education and medicine are central to the makeup of the Hubbell family. Creating a new scholarship named after the family for area students in healthcare fields was a natural fit.
“My grandmother taught in a one-room schoolhouse, so education has been very important to our family for a long time,” Dr. Susan Hubbell said. “My father was a physician here in Lima for many years. My brother’s a veterinarian, now in Kentucky, but he was at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine for over 30 years. My older brother, David, is a graduate of Ohio State’s College of Medicine and attended the Lima campus.”
Those connections with Ohio State provided the perfect backdrop for Wednesday’s announcement of the John D. and Norma L. Hubbell Family Scholarship for OSU-Lima, a program aimed at supporting undergraduates from Allen County who are working toward health-related careers, such as doctors, veterinarians, dentists and other healthcare professionals.
“Medical students and pre-med students are graduating now with large debts, and it’s preventing some individuals from even thinking about going to medical school,” Hubbell said. “So I think it’s important to start them out with some help.”
This new scholarship, along with Ohio State’s recently announced community medicine MD track, conducted in partnership with Mercy Health-St. Rita’s Medical Center, is part of the university’s ongoing efforts to attract aspiring physicians to the region and hopefully keep them here, according to OSU-Lima Dean Tim Rehner.
“This really becomes a pathway that we can recruit to this campus scholarship students for what is available here,” he said. “Then they would become familiar with our opportunities that are part of our health community around here in Lima.”
Lima Senior graduate Dalton Hahn, 18, is one of four OSU-Lima students to receive this new scholarship. This is actually the second time the Hubbell family contributed to his education, as he received a different Hubbell scholarship at his high school convocation. For him, knowing the community is helping is a source of encouragement as he works to complete his undergraduate studies before going to medical school.
“Now that I have the support and these funds, which allows me to work on my academics without worrying about the financial stresses, it is kind of nice to know that there are people supporting me and other students who are willing to work towards their dreams,” he said.
Hahn, along with Temple Christian graduate Leah Beraki, Bath graduate Travis Ebbeskotte and Elida graduate Corbin Fingerle, received a combined total of nearly $6,000 in this inaugural distribution. According to OSU-Lima, at current market levels, the fund is expected to distribute nearly $2,500 each year in scholarships.
Reach Craig Kelly at 567-242-0391 or on Twitter @cmkelly419.
