For some Nebraska Medicine employees who dream of becoming nurses, the biggest obstacle isn’t the coursework. It’s the cost.

The Nebraska Medicine Reach for the Stars Nursing Scholarship Program is closing that gap. It helps cover tuition, books, testing fees, and even scrubs so employees can complete nursing school debt-free.

A national program with local impact

Reach for the Stars Nursing Scholarship Program is a private foundation that partners with hospital systems across the country to help them grow their own nursing workforce. The scholarships, funded by anonymous donors, support hospital employees who have been admitted to nursing school. They cover the full cost of becoming an RN, and in some cases, a BSN.

Dozens of Nebraska Medicine employees have received the scholarship since the health system began offering it in June 2024. Recipients typically commit to working for the health system for two years after graduation.

Turning stress into confidence 

Molly Benes has worn several hats with Nebraska Medicine. She started as a CNA, added office assistant duties, and this year became a student nurse technician (SNT), a new role that allows nursing students to practice hands-on skills like placing IVs. She’s on track to earn her RN from UNMC in May 2027.

Before receiving the scholarship, Benes was working full time while attending school full time, a schedule she says left her exhausted, sleep-deprived, and anxious about how she’d afford nursing school. Learning she’d been selected changed everything.

“I don’t think I would have been able to afford nursing school without having to sacrifice my mental health,” Benes says. “It is quite literally a life-changing scholarship.”

With the financial pressure lifted, Benes cut back to a single work shift a week and says she finally has room to focus on studying and getting adequate sleep.

A launching pad for the future 

Grace Lonergan has spent six years with Nebraska Medicine, starting as a CNA at the Nebraska Medicine | Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center before transitioning to a lab technician role. Drawn back to direct patient care, she enrolled at Metropolitan Community College and recently completed her LPN, with plans to earn her RN in 2027.

Lonergan says the scholarship eased financial pressure for her whole family. Her father had offered to help pay for school, but she didn’t want that burden to fall on him, especially as he had recently begun facing his own medical bills.

“It’s a lot less stress on both of us, and it’s been great to not have to worry about school payments at all,” Lonergan says.

Beyond the financial relief, Lonergan says being selected affirmed her decision to return to school. “It felt really good to hear that they believed in me,” she says.

For nurses like Benes and Lonergan, the Reach for the Stars Nursing Scholarship Program is doing more than covering tuition. It’s giving Nebraska Medicine employees the confidence and stability to become the nurses their patients need.