Kansas OCCUPATIONAL therapy ASSOCIATION
Gloria Scammahorn Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Nearly 50 scholarships are available from the American Occupational Therapy Foundation and state occupational therapy associations, including the Kansas Occupational Therapy Association. Applicants complete only one online form to apply for all qualifying scholarships. See AOTF’s How to Apply page for eligibility requirements.
There are two important items to remember about the application process.
- Students must submit their applications by October 1. No changes will be permitted to online applications once they have been submitted. Please review your application carefully before then to ensure that all answers are true and up-to-date, then click the SUBMIT button.
- References (two are required) and program directors must submit their online forms by November 5.
KOTA awards its Scammahorn scholarship to one entry-level occupational therapy (OT) student and/or one entry-level occupational therapy assistant (OTA) student who is a member of KOTA and the American Occupational Therapy Association. Scholarship winners are required to present brief statements at the KOTA annual conference about how the scholarships have positively affected their educations.
Contact scholarships@aotf.org or 240-292-1125 with questions.
In Tribute: Gloria Scammahorn Gloria Scammahorn was the director of occupational therapy at Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri. She was married to Jim, a recreation therapist at Research, and their son, Curtis, was just 2 years old when she passed away from cancer. I was a new OT at the time Gloria was involved in KOTA. I believe our paths crossed a few times, and one of those was when the AOTA conference was in Kansas City in the 1980s and I was on the conference committee. I was new to KOTA and learning all I could from those around me. I am told that Gloria had a great sense of humor and that it is hard to put into words the high esteem and respect that Gloria had among all OT practitioners who knew her. She was, above all, a role model for all of us who were fortunate enough to be acquainted with her. She demonstrated brilliant leadership. She was a leader in AOTA, having the distinction of Fellow (FAOTA). She wrote book chapters in OT books and articles in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy (AJOT), primarily about administration. I know she also reviewed books, and those reviews were published in AJOT, as well. She was so humble that her sister didn’t know she was published until after her death. One book review in AJOT was “Prospective Payment: The Definitive Guide to Reimbursement” (August 1987). We were so fortunate to have a wonderful role model and leader in our profession like Gloria. I wish I had the chance to know her better and learn from her. – Theresa Bukaty-Chop | Scholarship Winners 2022: Gabrielle Cooke, Rockhurst University 2021: Brianna Sugiura, University of Kansas 2020: McKara Shaw, University of Kansas Medical Center 2019: Morgan Davis, University of Kansas Medical Center 2018: Madeleine Priebe, University of Kansas |