Jessica Becker didn’t always want to be a nurse, but having children changed that.

“After having children, I realized the nurse was a defining factor of whether you have a good or bad experience,” she said. “I decided I wanted to be the good experience.”

The Franklin woman, who is a third-year nursing student at Western Kentucky University, decided to apply for a $2,500 Bowling Green A.M. Rotary Club scholarship.

“The nursing staff had forwarded an email urging people who were not traditional students to apply for the scholarship prior to the semester,” she said. “There aren’t a lot of nontraditional students in the nursing program so I knew I had a shot. I was ecstatic to find out I had gotten one.”

The Bowling Green Sprint Triathlon, sponsored by Graves-Gilbert Clinic, The Medical Center and State Farm Insurance, funds the scholarship. The last triathlon was Aug. 21.

“We usually raise between $10,000 and $15,000,” said rotary club President James Hansbrough, who is triathlon race director. “We give four scholarships for $2,500 that are renewable.”

Several club members came up with the idea of having a scholarship for nontraditional students, Hansbrough said.

“Some of them had experience as nontraditional students or worked with someone who was a nontraditional student. Early on most of the students were nontraditional students, but some of them were traditional students,” he said. “Since 2010 there were more nontraditional students.”

Nontraditional students have a hard time finding scholarships, Hansbrough said.

“Financially they can have problems. You can tell these people are motivated by what they’re doing,” he said. “They’re motivated students you can count on, that you can depend upon and they know what they want to do. We’re looking for people that are motivated in their field and really need the help.”

The scholarships support four to six students in nursing school at WKU, Hansbrough said.

“We got into the nursing school because there tend to be people who worked for a while or had other careers and that is what they would do,” he said. “We sent an email to the nursing school saying we want nursing students.”

Potential scholarship candidates must be coming back to school, do a short essay about why they are nontraditional students and provide a transcript, Hansbrough said. The students are required to keep a 3.0 grade-point average.

“We have a committee that looks over those and picks out the four that are the most deserving,” he said. “We look at what their need is and what kind of student they are. This year it was a little bit hard.”

The proceeds from the triathlon go to a worthwhile cause, Hansbrough said.

“We’re proud of this program. We have former scholarship recipients who come volunteer (with the triathlon). We have Fulbright scholars and a couple graduate with a 4.0 (GPA),” he said. “We have talented, responsible recipients who have been good advertisement for our scholarship program.”

Becker’s interest for right now is becoming a labor and delivery nurse.

“We will be able to experience the different departments of nursing, so that may change,” she said.

She believes the scholarship is “a fantastic amount” and the application was simple.

“I’m still incredibly thankful,” she said.

— For more information about the scholarship, email bg.sprint.triathlon@gmail.com.

— Follow features reporter Alyssa Harvey on Twitter @bgdnfeatures or visit bgdailynews.com.