When Kiara Baxter’s baby niece fell seriously ill with eczema five years ago a light bulb went off in her head.The 20-year-old, who played a key role in nursing little Sa-Rae back to health, decided from then on she wanted to get a career in medicine to help people in their time of need.Miss Baxter is now a first year nursing student at De Mont Fort University in the United Kingdom, specialising in child care.She has been selected as one of five recipients of the Bermuda Hospitals Board scholarship a total of $90,000 will be divided between them over a period of one to three years.Other awardees include Nikki Clarke, Crystal Smith, Jimaye Johnson and Lekeisha Wolffe.The young women were selected due to their strong commitment to community service in the hospitals and solid academic performance.Miss Baxter was a triple honour student at the Berkeley Institute. She attained the international baccalaureate diploma and six GCSEs and was fourth overall in her graduating class in 2009.She was also the winner of a scholarship from the United World College in Costa Rica, where she studied for two years.She volunteered in the maternity ward at King Edward VII Memorial and also with the Salvation Army and various other nursery and summer camp programmes throughout the Island.She said the BHB scholarship would be a “major help” to her and her family.“I come from a single-parent home and my mom has a demanding job, as well as two other children and grandchildren she supports, and [the scholarship] helps take the financial burden off my mom.“It helps a lot, it really does, because with this scholarship you also get a chance to work for the hospital and you get experience within Bermuda’s healthcare system when you come back home.“During the summers I can come back [to Bermuda] and have a guaranteed job.”She said she also gets to broaden her professional scope and work in other areas like emergency care and the Continuing Care Unit.She told The Royal Gazette she was shocked, surprised and happy when she learned about the scholarship.“Everyone in my house was. We all burst into tears and jumped up and down. We were hysterical because this is such a great opportunity.”Miss Baxter said it has taken the financial stress off her so she can focus on her studies.She also admitted she walks proudly around the university campus with laptop covers, pens, key rings and other trinkets given to her by BHB.There were several key events in Miss Baxter’s young life that set her on the path to becoming a nurse.As a teenager her niece Sa-Rae developed a serious case of eczema. The disease is uncomfortable for children and also impacts their ability to eat and quality of life.“I always knew I wanted to pursue a career that actually helps others, however, I became serious about going into nursing a couple of years ago when I found out my niece was sick with a serious case of eczema and I took a keen role in taking care of her treatment.”While participating in a netball competition she tore a ligament and badly sprained her ankle. Nurses played a crucial role in her recovery.She also watched her grandfather suffer with several bouts of cancer and saw her grandmother’s health deteriorate.“[My grandparents] appreciated their doctors, but they appreciated their nurses way more because the nurses had more interaction with them.“The nurses also helped the family by reassuring them when times were tough,” she said.These experiences helped her to realise that “helping to give care to someone in that position is a gift”.