The woman sits down next to senior Julia Boucher who takes her blood pressure with a sphygmomanometer. From there, Julia reviews heart risks associated specifically with older women for a chance to win the Christus Trinity Mother Frances Woman With Heart Scholarship.  

“I have applied for many scholarships over the last couple of months, but this one stuck out to me because it was a video submission and pertained to health,” Boucher said. “My great grandmother died of heart disease, so this scholarship caught my interest.”

Julia’s mom, Sandra Boucher, helped by ensuring Julia’s information was accurate. 

“We came up to the school, during the water issue week where the school was opened but not really, and went ahead and videoed,” Sandra said. “She figured out the parts and pieces she wanted in the video. I told her I can be her patient since I am an older female and from there she told me what to do.”

In the submission video, Julia elaborates on ways to maintain a healthy heart and covers a multitude of facts about women’s heart health. 

“Her video highlighted ways to stay healthy and was overall visually appealing,” sophomore Karen Bryan said. “She explained women’s heart disease and that one in every five women die from heart complications. It brought to my attention that it could be me later in life if I don’t take care of myself.”

Although Julia’s submission video was challenging, she had to find facts about the general topic of women’s heart health. 

“I spent a few hours writing my script, recording, and editing all of my clips together,” Boucher said. “I did not think I would make it this far in the competition, I decided to apply last minute after they extended the due date, so I was pretty surprised that I made the finals.”