Cedar Community Establishes Carl Ziegler Endowed Scholarship Fund

The first recipients of Cedar Community’s Carl Ziegler Endowed Scholarship Fund have been awarded.

The award honors Professor Carl Ziegler (1940-2021), a devoted and celebrated educator serving generations of students during his tenure at Indiana University-Bloomington. He also had deep roots in the West Bend, Wis. — home of Cedar Community — and Washington County communities, as well as a faithful friend and supporter of Cedar Community. In his passing, he magnified that legacy with a generous gift from his estate. With the guidance of his estate’s trustee and family relative, Ben Schloemer, the Carl Ziegler Endowed Scholarship Fund was established to support Cedar Community team members in their educational and professional development pursuits.

The purpose of the scholarship fund is to support and encourage Cedar Community undergraduate student team members who are continuing their education at an accredited four-year or technical college institution. Additional scholarships are also available for professional team members who are pursuing professional development, continuing education, or graduate degree certification. The fund established eight scholarships in total: two undergraduate degree scholarships of $5,000 each; four technical college scholarships of $2,500 each; and two scholarships supporting team members engaged in professional development or advance degree seeking. Qualifying candidates must demonstrate an exemplary work ethic and commitment of compassion and service to their colleagues and residents, should model servant leadership qualities, and will have previously attained strong academic achievement.

In May of this year, the application process was opened to Cedar Community team members employed withthe organization for at least 12 months. The formal process included a written essay, documented academic performance in the prior year, letters of recommendation, and an interview. Interviews were conducted by a scholarship selection committee comprised of members of Cedar Community’s Executive and Leadership Councils, including Cedar Community President and Chief Executive Officer Nicole Pretre, along with Ben Schloemer, as a representative of the Ziegler trust. In all, 12 individuals completed the application process in this inaugural year.

Undergraduate scholarship winners ($5,000 each)

Jordan Vogel is a junior at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and is majoring in health services management with minors in both finance and leadership. Jordan works as a certified nursing assistant with Cedar Community’s long-term care residents and takes great pride in being truly resident-focused — choosing to go above and beyond for her residents as she provides compassionate daily cares. Jordan’s grandparents were residents here at Cedar Community, and she is looking forward to the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others and in healthcare operations as her chosen vocation.

Brooke Gruen is a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and intends to major in healthcare administration. She also works as a certified nursing assistant with Cedar Community’s long-term care residents and appreciates having a positive impact on the people she serves and the team members she works with. Brooke believes that every opportunity is a learning opportunity — even failures — and she is looking forward to merging her interests in healthcare and business for the good of others.

Professional development scholarship winners (up to $5,000 each)

Joseph Ludke is part of Cedar Community’s amazing life enrichment and well being teams and is beloved by his colleagues and residents alike across our assisted living and skilled nursing campuses. Joe’s easy wit and dedication to resident health and wellness are a blessing to those he serves. His goal is to continue to grow his skills in the area of kinesiology and to help residents retain and expand mobility as he grows his career here at Cedar Community.

Esteve Redolad: You may hear Esteve before you see him as he is known to sing his way through the day as part of Cedar Community’s spiritual care team. Esteve serves residents of our long-term care and rehab units. After 25 years in the pastoral ministry, Esteve is excited to continue his professional growth by pursuing additional clinical experience that will help him serve our very special friends and neighbors.

Technical college scholarship winners ($2,500 each)

Rachel Anderson: A student at Moraine Park Technical College, Rachel works as a certified nursing assistant and feels very fulfilled in her work with residents who are suffering from dementia. She enjoys spending quality time with them to put them at ease and provide cares in a compassionate and loving way — supporting families as well. Recently Rachel was very involved in Cedar Community’s Champion Committee — a recruitment effort spearheaded by our human resources team. Rachel is also involved in our mentoring program and is considering pursuing her licensed practical nurse degree this year.

Isabelle Gross: Isabelle joined the Cedar Community team two years ago as a dining assistant and is currently studying at Moraine Park Technical College with an intent to eventually earn her Bachelor of Science in nursing at a local university. Having overcome some significant challenges to achieve her current success, Isabelle is highly focused on providing very thoughtful and personalized care and attention to our residents in her work. Her experiences as a patient have reinforced her desire to work in the healthcare field, and she is proud and thankful that Cedar Community is part of her journey.

Aubrey Magray is a server at our Top of the Ridge Restaurant and shows the greatest care and concern to every dining guest — as well as to her teammates. After some key staff departures, Aubrey stepped up to take on additional responsibilities with grace and joy. Aubrey’s extremely close relationship with her grandmother, June, helped influence her interest in the medical field, and she is pursuing certification as an electrocardiogram technician at Milwaukee Area Technical College.

Isabelle Stuebing also is a server at the Top of the Ridge Restaurant. Issy, as her team members and residents call her, also stepped forward to take on additional responsibilities and can be counted on to do whatever the service shift needs — with humor and enthusiasm. Issy loves serving our residents and is pursuing her respiratory therapy certification at Milwaukee Area Technical College.

“I was very impressed not only with the care that went into establishing a variety of meaningful scholarshipopportunities, but also of the thoughtfulness of the process and the incredible strength of the candidates,” said Schloemer. “I learned a lot about the complexities of senior healthcare and also about how much theseindividuals truly care for the residents they serve. These were tough decisions. The applicants were all deserving.”