NORTH COAST, Calif. – Ukiah High graduate Caitlyn Hallman was one of 38 students to win a $1,500 Mendocino College Foundation Academic Excellence Scholarship last Spring.

Hallman explained that she received $750 at the beginning of the Fall 2012 semester, and the other $750 at the beginning of the Spring 2013 semester.

“The money has been so helpful,” she said. “I used it to pay for my units and also my textbooks, which are extremely expensive.”

Hallman, who is in her second year at Mendocino College, has finished all the general education requirements for transfer to a four-year college. She is now working on the prerequisites for entrance into a nursing program.

While she would love to be accepted into the Mendocino College nursing program, she is also considering nursing programs at Sonoma State University and Santa Rosa Junior College.

To begin preparing for her future career, she plans to enroll in the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) training, sponsored by the local chapter of the American Red Cross, during the summer of 2013.

“With a CNA, I will be able to work in a doctor’s office or a hospital to help pay for my nursing education,” she said.

Hallman said that she loves the beautiful campus at MC, and she is delighted by the “awesome” professors.

“The profs here actually spend one-on-one time with their students. I have a friend who goes to college in Arizona where there are 300 students in a class! She does not ever get individual time with her professors. We are so lucky here, where the professors are enthusiastic about their work and really care about their students. In my two years at MC, I have not had a bad prof yet!” she said.

Hallman's interest in the health field began while in high school when she took first aid and CPR classes offered by the city of Ukiah. Her training and quick thinking helped save a life while she was traveling with a group of Ukiah High Spanish language students in Portugal.

“A man had fallen near the edge of a cliff and hit his head on a rock,” she explained. “He was taking blood thinners and was bleeding profusely. The teacher, Ezra Post, noticed and ran toward him. I grabbed the first aid kit out of the bus and followed. There was not much in the first aid kit except gauze, so another student and I used that to wrap and compress the wound to stop the bleeding. It took a full 40 minutes for the emergency personnel to arrive. We just used basic first aid, but he would have bled to death in that time without assistance.”

She and her classmate received the American Red Cross Youth Good Samaritan Award in recognition of their courage and resourcefulness. “I still hear from that man,” she said, smiling.

Hallman believes most people would be surprised to learn that she was a national champion roller skater at age 14. “After that, I retired from skating,” she said.

Hallman volunteers at a local nursing home as a companion to a 95-year-old lady “who was one of my favorite customers when I worked at BeBop's.”

She also helps the Kiwanis Club with volunteer activities, such as serving at Plowshares and delivering gifts for the Christmas effort. Hallman says her mother, Jordis, the past-president of Kiwanis, has made it easy and fun for her to help out.

In her free time Hallman enjoys playing guitar and crocheting.

For more information about the Mendocino College Foundation or to donate towards any of their programs, call them at 707-467-1018 or visit http://foundation.mendocino.edu .

Lynda Myers is a Mendocino College Foundation board member.