Foundation Scholarships

Lopas and Cicenas Family

A new recipient must be a sophomore nursing major with financial need accepted in to the College of Nursing at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Additional preferences include single parents and Wisconsin residents. Special consideration will be given to applicants from widely diverse backgrounds. The award is renewable for up to two years if the nursing student maintains all standards and requirements as established by the College of Nursing and continues as a nursing major at UW-Eau Claire. Should the recipient change majors after receiving the award the donor has the right to cancel the scholarship and have it be awarded to another qualified UW-Eau Claire nursing major. It is the donor’s intention to assist students who are trying to improve their economic status. As such, they would not want this scholarship to be awarded to a student who already has a college degree beyond the associate’s degree or who has an RN degree. The donor’s intent is to support three scholarships each year so that there will be one new recipient each year, and the sophomore and junior recipients would be renewed for the second and third years respectively, if they meet the scholarship criteria. If a student who currently holds the scholarship and could have it renewed does not return to school or does not meet the scholarship criteria, a new recipient may be selected. That new recipient must be at the same grade level as the student who could have been eligible for renewal (if the renewed student was a junior but does not receive the scholarship, then a new junior should be selected, etc.) The donor’s desire is to always have a sophomore, junior and senior each holding the scholarship.

Application Forms: Students who are admitted to the nursing program at UW-Eau Claire will receive an email in late February/early March when the scholarship application is ready and available. The email will include the path to the online application forms. PART ONE is filled online and submitted electronically. PART TWO (the essay and activities form) is filled out online and printed off, signed and submitted to the Dean’s Assistant Office, Nursing 103, by the deadline. Only one essay can be submitted. The essay must address the eligibility criteria for each of the scholarships that they wish to apply for. Financial Need: For scholarships that indicate “financial need required” a FAFSA Financial Aid form must be filled out and there must be some level of financial need.

The Nursing Scholarship Committee will select the recipient.

Prior to the Nursing scholarship dinner

The Dean of Nursing and Health Sciences will send notification to the recipient by letter and submit a “Scholarship Award Form” to the Financial Aid Office.

The intent of establishing the Lopas and Cicenas Family Scholarships is to support nursing students who demonstrate great abilities in the nursing field throughout their educational journey at UW-Eau Claire. Recognizing the value of strong medical care and critical need to help meet the nursing shortage, Gene Lopas and Arlene Cicenas-Lopas established the Lopas and Cicenas Family Scholarships in 2005. The recipients should send a thank-you note to Gene Lopas and Arlene Cicenas-Lopas in care of the UW-Eau Claire Foundation Office, Schofield Hall 214.