One-Person Child Life Program Conference Scholarship Recipients

In both 2019 and 2020, ACLP was able to award two One-Person Program Conference Scholarships. Applicants were Certified Child Life Specialists working full time in hospital-based, one-person programs who had never attended an ACLP conference. In 2020, the scholarship requirements were expanded to include additional application questions and a personal statement.

Recipients of the 2020 One-Person Program Conference Scholarships

Sarah Bournique, CCLS

Sarah Bournique currently works at Gulf Coast Regional Medical Center in Panama City, Florida, where she is operating as a one-person child life program. She provides services to the PICU, Peds, Peds ER, Radiology, and NICU. In additional to her primary responsibilities, she also leads the NICU Cuddler program at her hospital. Sarah was born and raised in Indiana, completed her Bachelor of Science Degree at Ball State University and has been a Certified Child Life Specialist for two years. She completed a practicum at Beacon Children’s Hospital and an internship at HSHS St. Vincent’s Children’s Hospital. Sarah enjoys implementing child life interventions in multiple different settings as well as working with children and adolescents of all ages. She stays active in the child life community by being members of both the ACLP as well as the FACLP (Florida Association of Child Life Professionals). Sarah is most passionate about having the opportunity to empower young patients to cope through difficult procedures and situations. In Sarah’s free time, she loves reading, going to the beautiful Florida beaches, and spending time with friends. Read Sarah's essay about her conference experience.

Nicole Perez, MA, CCLS

For the past two years, Nicole Perez has been a Certified Child Life Specialist working a one-person program at NYC H+H/Elmhurst. She was born and raised in the Elmhurst, Queens area and left home to complete her undergraduate studies at Wheelock College (Boston University), where she received a Bachelor of Science in Human Development/Psychology. During her time there, she completed a professional concentration in Child Life and a minor in Child Health, which led to a practicum at Children’s Hospital Boston. Nicole has a Master’s of Arts in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University and completed her child life internship at NYC H+H/Bellevue. She also participated in a child life fellowship at Cohen Children’s Medical Center, where she was assigned to the Hematology/Oncology and Stem Cell Transplant unit. In her spare time, she likes to cook, shop, and spend time with family and friends. She loves to travel and tries to be a tourist in her own city every chance she gets. Read Nicole's essay about her conference experience.

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About the Sponsor

For 34 years, enCourage Kids Foundation has helped humanize healthcare for children and their families by resourcing impact-driven pediatric programs and supporting the Child Life Community. Serving more than one million children annually, our programs offer relief from the constant burden of treatment, hospital stays, and doctor appointments, while also helping pediatric facilities to meet the unique needs of their patients. enCourage Kids Foundation envisions a world where every child–regardless of the difficulty of his or her medical journey—experiences joy, hope, resilience, and healing.