(Atlantic) Cass Health and the Atlantic Community School Foundation are proud to announce the recipients of the 2026 Cecile Kopecky Nursing Scholarship. This year’s scholarship recipients are:
-Brittni Schmidt
-Mandy Sievers
-Danielle Bennett
-Elizabeth Anderson
-Dayna Dreager
-Paige McAfee
The Cecile Kopecky Nursing Scholarship is awarded to students pursuing a nursing career through an LPN, RN, BSN, MSN, or DNP program. Applicants must be graduates of Atlantic Community High School or employed as a nurse in Atlantic. Recipients are selected based on academic achievement, citizenship, leadership abilities, and their commitment to the nursing profession.
The scholarship honors the life and legacy of Cecile E. Kopecky, whose dedication to nursing and education continues to inspire future generations of healthcare professionals.
Born on December 27, 1919, in Cainsville, Missouri, Kopecky moved to Atlantic as a young child and graduated from Atlantic High School in 1937. She earned her nursing degree from the University of Iowa and spent four years working in surgical wards at University Hospitals before enlisting in the United States Navy Nurse Corps in 1945.
During her 20-year military career, Kopecky completed postgraduate studies and earned a bachelor’s degree in obstetrical nursing at Margaret Hague Maternity Hospital in Jersey City, New Jersey. She also served as a nursing educator at Syracuse University and worked in U.S. Naval Hospitals throughout the Midwest and East Coast, in addition to serving two years in Japan.
Following her retirement from the Navy in 1965, Kopecky continued her commitment to healthcare education through the Health Occupations Education program at the University of Iowa before returning to Atlantic in 1971.
A lifelong advocate for nursing education, Kopecky bequeathed a portion of her estate to the Atlantic Community School Foundation to establish an endowment supporting nursing scholarships. Today, that legacy continues through the Cecile Kopecky Nursing Scholarship, helping aspiring nurses pursue their education and future careers in healthcare.
To learn more about Cecile Kopecky’s life and legacy or to learn about scholarship opportunities available through Cass Health, visit casshealth.org/careers/scholarships.
