Five St. Mary’s colleagues awarded nursing scholarships

December 11, 2025

Athens, Ga., – The St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation is proud to announce the 2025 recipients of the Marilyn Brown Nursing Scholarship, which each year provides $2,500 gifts to five colleagues who have been accepted into a nursing program of study.

Scholarship recipients can be nurses who are studying to advance their career or colleagues who are studying to become a nurse.

The scholarship was established by Marilyn Brown, a grateful patient who was inspired to create the scholarship by the skill, tenderness, and reverence she experienced from St. Mary’s nurses. She hopes other grateful patients will follow in her footsteps to help even more St. Mary’s colleagues become nurses or advance their nursing careers.

“We are deeply grateful to Mrs. Brown for her generosity and commitment to advancing high-level care and higher-level caring at St. Mary’s,” said Anneliese Woodall, Manager of Donor Relations for St. Mary’s Health Care System. “Her ongoing contributions to our ministry reflect how much difference our nurses make in our patients’ outcomes and experiences. We are honored to be able to help her realize her goal of building the next generation of skilled, compassionate nurses at St. Mary’s.”

The next application season for next year’s Marilyn Brown Nursing Scholarships will open July 1, 2026. Congratulations to this year’s recipients!

Caroline Walters

Caroline Walters lives in Comer, Ga., and is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Nursing from Middle Georgia University with plans to become an Adult Geriatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP). In addition, she is a full-time Intensive Care Nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital in Athens. Caroline’s program of study allows her to expand her knowledge and strengthen her critical thinking, assessment, and leadership skills so that she is better equipped to take care of patients.
Caroline states in her scholarship application, “I believe my experience as an ICU nurse, combined with this degree, will position me to make a lasting, positive impact on both patient care and the future of our organization. Once I graduate, my hope is to return to St. Mary’s to continue serving the people in our community with compassion and dedication.”
Katherine “Mckenzie” Filaski

Mckenzie Filaski of Winder, Ga., is currently pursuing her Master of Nursing Education from Western Governors University with a projected completion date of May 2026. She also works as a Registered Nurse (RN) in the Emergency Department at St. Mary’s Hospital in Athens.
Mckenzie explains in her scholarship request that she enjoys teaching others, and by earning an advanced nursing degree, she wants to help educate and train new nurses to become expert, caring clinicians.
She explains, “I believe you must have a deep love for caring for people to develop a deep passion for nursing. I’ve found a great community of caring individuals amongst everyone I’ve met while working at St. Mary’s. I hope to continue to give back to the community that’s supported me by serving as a resource for guidance and excellence to my peers.”
Macy Parker

Macy Parker of Toccoa, Ga., is a Patient Care Technician at St. Mary’s Sacred Heart Hospital. As a Patient Care Tech, Macy’s responsibilities include telemetry monitoring of ICU patients and patients admitted to the MedSurg Unit. Telemetry monitoring includes cardiac rhythm interpretations and rhythm monitoring.
Macy began working at Sacred Heart in 2019. She details in her personal statement, “Working for St. Mary’s has further solidified my belief that every individual deserves the best care possible in any given situation. I hope to use everything I’ve learned as a Tech and apply it to being an amazing nurse, like so many I have worked with here.”
Macy is enrolled at Piedmont University seeking her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She expects to complete her program of study May 2027.
Natalie Moody

Natalie Moody resides in Milledgeville, Ga., and is a Patient Care Technician at St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital in Greensboro, Ga. A recent recipient of St. Mary’s Spirit of Mercy Award, she is currently enrolled in nursing school with plans to become a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) and eventually an RN. Natalie is dedicated to bringing comfort, dignity and hope to every patient encounter. She plans to be a nurse who is clinically skilled, emotionally present, and committed to lifelong learning.
Natalie is proud to be part of a health care system that prioritizes whole-person healing and community support. She values compassion, service and integrity, and she is grateful that St. Mary’s provides an environment that reflects those values.
William Shirley

William Shirley of Athens, Ga., is enrolled in Athens Technical College’s nursing program to obtain his Associate Degree in Nursing. His long-term goal is to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and Master of Business Administration (MBA). Since 2018, William has worked at St. Mary’s Hospital as a Monitor Technician in the Neuroscience Critical Care Unit.
In his role at St. Mary’s, William supports patients through some of the most critical and vulnerable moments of care. These experiences solidified his passion for nursing and inspired him to pursue a nursing degree. He states in his application, “I want to be on the front lines – advocating, healing, and connecting with patients in their most human moments.”