EU Masters of Nursing student passes away

To some, it may sound cliché to say that someone’s smile lit up a room, but for those who knew Courtney Schoolcraft, her smile genuinely made a positive impact. 

Elizabeth Lucas, Schoolcraft’s fellow Masters of Nursing student, said Schoolcraft’s smile was her favorite thing about her. 

“Her smile truly lit up a room, and it was just so big and it was so bright, and when she smiled she always kind of giggled a little bit, and I don’t know why but it was just so infectious,” Lucas said.  

Schoolcraft, a student who was enrolled in Elmhurst University’s Masters of Nursing program, died on April 3 after a long battle with cancer. 

Schoolcraft was a 2018 graduate of Lockport Township High School, where she excelled academically and earned four varsity letters for the softball team. She then attended the University of Southern Indiana on a softball and academic scholarship and earned her bachelor’s degree. 

She was working on her Masters of Nursing at EU and would have graduated this May.

Ruth Schumacher, assistant professor of nursing, said Schoolcraft had wanted to be a nurse since she went to high school and had worked as a certified nursing assistant in high school and college. 

“She was definitely very passionate about becoming a nurse,” Schumacher said. 

Lucas recalled that Schoolcraft was the type of person to listen more than she spoke, and this strength was an asset in her nursing studies. 

“She was always very attentive to different little minor details, especially in the different classes that we had…” Lucas said. “I had a psych class with her, and they would give us these little examples of the patients, and she would just pick up on all these things that I think most people would overlook.”

Additionally, Lucas noted that Schoolcraft never had any bias when she shared her clinical experiences. 

“There were many times where I remember specifically we talked about pain — pain with patients — and I think it’s common for many of us to question whether patients are in pain or not, but I think with Courtney it was never really a question,” Lucas said. “I don’t know if that was because of her experience with pain herself in the past, or if she just truly was that empathetic, she was just a really good advocate for these patients. She didn’t question, she didn’t have anything negative.”

Lucas also mentioned that while it’s unfortunate that Schoolcraft struggled with pediatric cancer, the experience gave her a unique perspective on healthcare and life. 

“You could tell that she was impacted by healthcare at a very young age, and I think it gave her a lot of wisdom and just a completely different perspective, and it made her so much stronger, and she would have made such an incredible nurse because of it,” Lucas said. 

In addition to being passionate about nursing, Schoolcraft valued spending time with her family. 

Lucas recalled a time when she was in a Zoom class with Schoolcraft, and Schoolcraft’s father walked in and gave her a kiss on the forehead. 

“She was just so flustered and kind of embarrassed, but it was such a sweet little gesture, and I feel like it kind of showed their relationship… ” Lucas said. “She was always so smiley and close with family, she would talk about family whenever she talked. Not often, but when she did it was just the sweetest little things.”

Furthermore, Schumacher commented on how she loved dogs, cats, and baseball. 

She wishes Schoolcraft could have realized her dream. 

“I just wish she had had the opportunity to fulfill her dream of becoming a nurse,” Schumacher said. “I think she was way too young to be lost so soon.”

Lucas shared a similar sentiment, noting Schoolcraft’s potential. 

“It doesn’t seem fair that of all the people in the world she was the one taken away because she would have done so much good,” Lucas said. 

Schumacher will miss Schoolcraft’s optimism. 

“Even though her cancer came back, she was very optimistic she was going to return and complete her education and become the best nurse she could be,” Schumacher said. “And she did not lose that optimism until she passed away.”