Lindy Winkler, one of the AbbVie Immunology Scholarship recipients, at the Camp Oasis Corner. Winkler was both a camper and counselor at Camp Oasis, and continues to remain involved in the community. Credit: Courtesy of Lindy Winkler

Each year, hundreds of students apply for the AbbVie Immunology Scholarship, with hopes of receiving the award.?

The scholarship is designed to support students who are living with chronic inflammatory diseases and are pursuing higher education in the United States, per a press release. Students are given the opportunity to renew their scholarships for up to three years of study, or until a bachelor’s degree is earned.?

In 2026, two Ohio State students were chosen to receive the scholarship, unbeknownst to either of them.?

Maddy Kuta, a second-year in accounting, and Lindy Winkler, a second-year in nursing, were both selected for the 2026 – 27 school year. They shared their stories of living with their diseases — Winkler has Crohn’s Disease, Kuta has Ulcerative Colitis — and how they’ve chosen to embrace them.?

Crohn’s Disease is an inflammatory bowel disease that can lead to irritation and swelling in the digestive track, according to the Mayo Clinic. Ulcerative Colitis is another inflammatory bowel disease that causes ulcers in the large intestine, also per Mayo Clinic.??

As a kid, Winkler said she spent summers at Camp Oasis, sponsored by the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, where children can spend time learning about and growing more confident in their diagnoses.

Camp Oasis was one of the largest pieces of inspiration for pursuing nursing, as well as positive experiences in her own journey with healthcare professionals, Winkler said.

“Going to camp, a lot of the counselors had similar experiences and also worked in healthcare,” Winkler said. “Ultimately, when I was deciding on what specifically in healthcare I wanted to do, I did land on nursing because I felt like it’s such a good interpersonal connection with your patient, and my experience with nurses, I always had a positive experience with them, so I really wanted to give back to to kids, to other patients like me.”

Winkler also said that building a community, like one from Camp Oasis, helped her navigate some of the tougher aspects of having a chronic illness.?

“The main thing that I wanted to do was share my experience and tell people about camp because to me the most important thing is having that sort of community that you could rely on, that understood what you were going through and would be there to support you,” Winkler said.

Building a community reaches past friends found at summer camp, especially when coming to a new environment like a college campus, Kuta said.?

“When I first got here, I tried my best to just create a community of people and get involved, so I could have people around me,” Kuta said. “Over the years with this illness [I] learned how to talk about it and explain it to people and make them aware of it, and so I think creating that community early on really allowed that relationship to happen.”

For those who feel anxious about communicating with peers, Kuta said remembering there are other students who could be experiencing the same situation can be helpful.?

“I’m dealing with something that not everyone has to deal with, and [for] people who have chronic illnesses, I think it’s difficult because you’re surrounded by people [and] feel isolated almost,” Kuta said. “Remembering that there are other people out there who feel the exact same way.”

Winkler shared the same sentiment and said that having that knowledge is extremely important.?

“[It’s] cool to know that there’s someone else, even in this huge school that we go to, there’s so many people that are going through similar things, have similar experiences, get similar scholarships,” Winkler said. “Communication and community [are] so important.