Catherine "Katy" Thorpe Scholarship

Catherine “Katy” Smith Thorpe was in her forties when she decided to follow a passion first discovered in high school – nursing. Being a recipient of scholarships, she experienced the beneficial effects on her education. This is her motivation for establishing the Catherine “Katy” Smith Thorpe Scholarship and passing her kindness on to future generations of nursing students.

She says, “It is a privilege to be supportive of nursing students in their pursuit of this vital and noble profession.”

Katy enrolled at Mesa College (CMU) and was a student with two of her student-athlete sons, Lance and Shawn Smith. She now has a grandson, Sullivan Smith, who is attending CMU.

After earning an Associate of Science degree in 1985 she began her career as a nurse. Continuing her education while working she graduated summa cum laude in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the age of fifty. She was a member of the Nursing Honor Society, Alpha Chi, and listed in the Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. She went on to have a fulfilling twenty-two-year career as a registered nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital and Medical Center.