Commitment and Care for Others – Remembering Martina Kuechle in Scholarships for Nurses

New generations of nursing students have the opportunity for a new scholarship that honors a woman who exemplified all that UDM nursing wants of its students – compassion, commitment to others, and a belief in giving time and talent to make a better world. Martina “Marty” Kuechle served the UDM community over a span that saw the McAuley School of Nursing grow and develop its essence at Mercy College and then move into spacious state-of-the-art facilities at Lansing Reilly Hall on the UDM Campus. Marty’s smile was known to people all over both Mercy and UDM campuses. Her first job, very early in her career, was in the in UD’s Office of Admissions and then she moved to the College of Business Administration. For a while she managed the University’s satellite campus in Clarkston. But it was in the College of Health Professions that her care for students, her commitment to her colleagues and her willingness to live the mission of the University became a model for everyone who came to know her.
Marty was Director of Academic Affairs in CHP for 18 years on both the Outer Drive and McNichols campuses until her untimely passing in 2008. Faculty and staff comment lovingly on her warm welcoming manner and enthusiastic smile and her willingness to lend a hand where needed.
A new scholarship program for nursing students has been established to honor the memory Martina Kuechle. The Martina Kuechle Nursing Scholarship will be awarded annually to nursing students who exemplify in the classroom the teamwork and collaboration that Marty demonstrated in life. To keep Marty’s memory alive at the College, her colleagues and her family wanted to continue her giving spirit and established a scholarship in her honor. Friends and colleagues continue to donate, and the scholarship is growing. The dream is to someday build the scholarship into an endowment so that student nurses will have a resource in perpetuity to assist them with their schooling.
To donate to the Martina Kuechle Scholarship Fund, please contact the College of Health Professions.