Honouring Future Nurses: The 2025 Emery and Geraldine Cawsey Nursing Education Award

Since 2018, Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation has had the privilege of working alongside Emery and Geraldine Cawsey to present an annual award that honours the dedication and heart of future nurses. The Emery and Geraldine Cawsey Nursing Education Award was established to support a fourth-year nursing student who embodies the compassion, commitment, and care that define the profession.

This award holds deep personal significance. Geraldine served as a nurse for many years and, together with Emery, they decided to continue to support the education of future nurses. Their legacy of care lives on through this award, which not only provides meaningful financial support but also recognizes the instrumental role nurses play in the lives of their patients and communities.

We are honoured to announce that the 2025 recipient of the Cawsey Nursing Education Award is Araiya J. Bernard.

“Nursing has given me a path to reclaim my voice, reconnect with my identity, and advocate for those whose stories often go unheard. Being accepted into this program at 17 was daunting, but I couldn’t have chosen a better path. My journey through post-secondary and nursing has been one of transformation, rooted in resilience, community, and purpose. From feeling displaced in my adolescence to finding a calling where I could channel my lived experience into advocacy and real change — this path has shown me what’s possible.

This award isn’t just financial support. It’s affirmation that my story, my work, and my voice matter in the future of healthcare. Thank you to my friends, family, peers, and community for walking beside me.”

We are deeply grateful to Emery and Geraldine Cawsey for their steadfast dedication to the education and empowerment of nursing students in Northern British Columbia. Their generosity helps ensure that future healthcare leaders like Araiya can continue their education, inspired and supported every step of the way.

Together, we celebrate not just academic achievement, but the passion, resilience, and purpose that define what it means to be a nurse.