The winner of the 2026 Audrain County Health Department’s Kay Dubbert Memorial Scholarship has been selected. This year’s recipient is Mexico resident Lillian Yager.
Yager was chosen from a …
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The winner of the 2026 Audrain County Health Department’s Kay Dubbert Memorial Scholarship has been selected. This year’s recipient is Mexico resident Lillian Yager.
Yager was chosen from a field of entrants who are either in school or getting ready to attend college to pursue a nursing degree.
“Lillian was chosen because of her obvious concern for the Audrain County community,” said ACHD Administrator and CEO Craig Brace. “Kay Dubbert was a person that exemplified this ethic through her commitment to her community through her nursing career, and Lillian reflects that attitude.”
The fifth-semester Bachelor of Science in Nursing student at the University of Missouri’s Sinclair School of Nursing says the impact of seeing this ethic in Audrain County healthcare providers through the years is what inspired her.
“Growing up in Audrain County reinforced that perspective,” Yager said in her essay. “Seeing the impact compassionate healthcare providers had on my community inspired me to pursue a career where I could provide that same sense of care and connection.”
Yager went on to say it was Dubbert who inspired her as well to enter the nursing field.
“Her career reflects the kind of nurse I hope to become,” she said. “Someone who not only provides excellent care but also strengthens the community around them. I hope to use my education and experience to give back to the community that helped shape me.”
ACHD Director of Operations Katie Swaim, RN/BSN, a member of the committee that chose Yager this year, says Yager was an obvious choice for this year’s award.
“I could feel the passion Lillian has for the nursing field as I read her essay,” Swaim said. “She showed through her words that community and Kay’s work ethic meant a lot to her and will not be forgotten as she moves through her career. She will be a great asset to the field upon her graduation with her degree. I look forward to one day soon calling her a colleague in this field.”
The Kay Dubbert Memorial Scholarship was established shortly after Dubbert passed away in 2024 as a way to memorialize what she meant to the ACHD and the Audrain community as a whole. The $2,500 will be awarded to future applicants that the committee most feels matches Dubbert’s ideals and example, with Yager being named this year’s winner.
