Dove Healing Center Scholarship

The Dove Healing Center Scholarship is a testament to the commitment of its founder, LaTeisha Benson LCSW, to promote diversity and provide support to deserving students at Western Kentucky University (WKU). This scholarship is specifically designed to assist students who identify as students of color (Black, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, Native American, Multicultural) and who are first-generation college students. Its primary purpose is to offer financial assistance to those with demonstrated financial need while contributing to WKU's mission of fostering a diverse student body. LaTeisha Benson, LCSW, is a dedicated alumna of WKU who graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work in May 2007 and later earned her Master of Social Work in 2011 from the same institution. Since her graduation, she has remained committed to giving back to WKU and the social work community by hosting BSW and MSW interns and actively participating in search committees for Social Work professors.

 

In June 2022, LaTeisha Benson founded the Dove Healing Center, an outpatient mental health facility dedicated to assisting individuals coping with various mental health diagnoses. The center's mission is to equip individuals with the necessary skills to lead healthy lives. LaTeisha's personal journey, marked by her mental health challenges and the tragic loss of her nephew, Derwin Hughes, inspired her to create the Dove Healing Center. Her determination to take small steps toward a better future serves as an example of resilience and hope.  Our goal at the Dove Healing Center is to provide quality behavioral based therapeutic services to adolescents, individuals, and couples in a caring environment. Through our collaborative work we will seek to promote a positive sense of self, while lessening the experience of anxiety and worry which can inhibit your life. We have clinicians with over 15 years of social work experience working with children and families, as well as working in crisis settings and with individuals suffering from substance use disorders. We have worked with individuals with a variety of concerns including anxiety, depression, grief/loss, crisis intervention, and relationship stressors, and substance use difficulties.

The Dove Healing Center Scholarship prioritizes students who embody the values of diversity, resilience, and a commitment to education. Eligible applicants must:

1. Must be enrolled as a full-time student at Western Kentucky University.
2. Must demonstrate a financial need and have a balance remaining on their student account.
3. First preference shall go to a student participating in the Cynthia and George Nichols, III, Intercultural Student Engagement Center (ISEC) Academy and Trio Programs at WKU. Second preference shall go to a student participating in either or the Cynthia and George Nichols, III, Intercultural Student Engagement Center (ISEC) Academy or Trio Programs at WKU.
4. The purpose of this scholarship is to provide support to students who have financial need and demonstrate characteristics that support WKU’s goal of promoting a diverse student body as a critical component to its educational mission. As part of this process, it is the preference of the donor that consideration be given to students who are members of an underrepresented and historically disadvantaged group.   In the event there are equally qualified candidates, it is the preference of the donor that consideration be given to a student who is Black, Indigenous, or Person of Color in support of the goal of a diverse student body so long as the effect of this scholarship does not discriminate against any other students from receiving equal consideration of financial aid funds from the pooling effect of available scholarship opportunities.
5. Must possess the personal qualities of character, integrity, dependability, industriousness and human compassion which produce leaders and merit the honor of this award. 

 

Recipients will be selected by the ISEC and Trio Programs Scholarship Committee.

Applicants must complete an online WKU scholarship application prior to the published deadline each year.  Award notification will be sent in the form of a letter from the University Scholarship Committee, with the letter to contain appropriate recognition of the Donor.