DEERFIELD, ILL. — July 24, 2017— Selected Independent Funeral Homes’ Educational Trust has announced three new recipients of the Second-Career Scholarship in the amount of $1,500 each. The winners are Darlene Glidden of Acton, MA, Greg Burton of Medora, IN and Leanne Hall of Glen Burnie, MD.
This scholarship was created to meet the educational needs of the increasing number of second-career professionals entering independent funeral service seeking positions as funeral directors and future leaders.
Darlene Glidden, enrolled at Mount Ida College in Newton, MA, will graduate in May 2018. Currently employed at Bosk Funeral Home in MA, Glidden hopes to continue her employment there once licensed and degreed. Glidden comes to the funeral profession with 5 years of experience as a firefighter and an emergency medical technician.
Glidden explains why she has chosen her new path.
“I have always found the funeral rite a beautiful and symbolic time,” said Glidden. “To me, there is so much more to it than simply saying farewell to a loved one.”
Greg Burton, a full-time student at Mid-American College of Funeral Service Science, expects to graduate in September 2017. Burton, like Glidden come from a background in emergency service. He served eight years as a paramedic. He is currently employed at Allen Funeral Home in Bloomington, IN.
“I want to be a leader and the best at what I do,” said Burton. “It is important to me to work and be involved with independently-owned funeral homes.”
Leanne Hall has just completed her first year at the Community College of Baltimore County in the Mortuary Science Program and expects to graduate in the Summer of 2018. Hall comes from a background in cosmetology and she believes her skills set will be beneficial to her second profession.
“Helping people to see their loved ones once again, as they remembered them, and giving families the confidence that they are being well taken care of is my primary purpose,” said Hall.
Since the award was first launched in late 2010, the Board of Trustees have awarded 31 scholarships to deserving individuals seeking a career in funeral service.
More information on scholarship parameters, as well as the official application and complete list of previous winners visit the website. The Second-Career Scholarship is one of several programs of the Selected Educational Trust, which was founded by Selected Independent Funeral Homes, a worldwide professional association of independent, locally-owned funeral homes founded in 1917. By creating the program, the Trust hopes to attract and assist future practitioners interested in entering the profession.
