Before she ever stepped into a nursing classroom, Emma Picklesimer knew what it was like to struggle for survival and to feel unwavering compassion from a nurse. Experiencing this care firsthand, Picklesimer is now preparing to bring that same compassion into her career in nursing.
Picklesimer, a first-generation college student from Flatwoods, Kentucky, is one of three inaugural recipients of the Humana Scholars Program at Eastern Kentucky University (EKU). Announced in March, Humana invested $125,000 to establish the Humana Scholars Program at EKU, providing nursing scholarships and funding to help reduce personal barriers for EKU students pursuing nursing degrees.
“Our students are the heartbeat of Kentucky’s future, and their stories remind us why nursing education matters so much,” said EKU President David McFaddin. “Emma’s determination to serve every patient with dignity and hope reflects the very best of who we are as a Commonwealth. It is students like her who will strengthen Kentucky’s healthcare system for decades to come.”
At 14 years old, Picklesimer was living with chronic pain in her legs. After almost two years of testing and limited answers, she underwent an arterial bypass surgery in her legs. This is when she first met Nurse Lexi, who Picklesimer described as “quietly tending, advocating and going above and beyond.”
Four years later, Picklesimer had her fourth surgery, which brought about complications. After 17 days in the hospital, her symptoms compounded into a mini-stroke and hematoma that led to a Fasciotomy, leading to the need for a skin graft for closure. Faced with the reality that she may not make it to her first semester of nursing school or out of the hospital, Nurse Lexi once again stood at her bedside and cared for Picklesimer.
“More than that, she inspired me to become the kind of nurse who fights for others,” Picklesimer said. “She saw beyond my diagnosis. She saw my fear, my faith and my will to keep going, even when I could not. She reminded me that healing is not just physical—it is emotional, spiritual and deeply human. She showed me the power behind the heart of a nurse.”
Having overcome her health challenges with the help of a nurse, Picklesimer wants to do the same for others, and one day be the voice for the smallest patients in a neonatal intensive care unit and serve through medical missions.
“I am a future nurse who has been the patient who held on by a thread of faith and who was strengthened by the compassion of a nurse who chose to see me not as a statistic, but as a person worth fighting for,” said Picklesimer, who’s now a senior in EKU’s nursing program.
The Humana Scholars Program at EKU was designed to help train and support the next generation of nurses who will expand access to care across Kentucky and beyond.
Committed to addressing healthcare shortages in Kentucky, EKU graduates approximately 135 nurses a year. Five years after graduation, 78% of EKU bachelor’s nursing graduates are employed in Kentucky, according to the KYSTATS Postsecondary Feedback Report.
EKU’s School of Nursing offers degree programs for all stages of the nursing career, including associate, bachelor’s, graduate and doctoral degrees. EKU is ranked among the Best Bachelor of Science in Nursing Programs by U.S. News & World Report.
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