Laura Betzen-Oeding Memorial Scholarship
About Laura Betzen-Oeding
Laura was born April 2, 1978, and at the age of two months, she made her custom harvest journey from Kansas to Texas to Wyoming and back. She quickly developed the love for the outdoors and helped on the family farm in eastern Pratt County. She attended Cunningham Grade School and High School and was active in sports and numerous school activities. Fun-loving and motivated, track was her favorite sport, and she qualified for state competition all four years.
During the summer months, she operated the tractor and grain cart for the family’s custom harvest business. She graduated from Cunningham High School in 1996 and continued her education at Pratt Community College, where she graduated with her Associate for Science in Nursing in 2000. She then completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Wichita State University in 2002. Laura married Darren Oeding in May 2003 and spent the majority of her nursing career caring for patients with kidney failure at Via Christi-St. Francis in Wichita.
In July 2011, she dies a tragic accident at the age of 33. At that time, she was a graduate student at Fort Hays State University, pursuing a degree as a Nurse Practitioner. Due to her work experience with transplant patients, Laura had communicated to her family her wish to donate her organs. Her thoughtful donation has helped numerous individuals with chronic medical conditions throughout the Midwest.
Laura’s family and friends established this scholarship in her memory.