(Ethete, WY) – Jessica Cecrle (RN), Wyoming Indian School’s nurse, was recently recognized as the Wyoming State School Nurse of the year for 2024/2025 by the Wyoming School Nurses Association.
She was celebrated by the school district on Tuesday, May 6, in the Alfred Redman Gymnasium.
“We’re here for a really special reason today, for a really special person,” Superintendent Blakke Bertram told attendees as the students gathered in the gym. “We are blessed to get to come to school every day and see a lot of amazing staff members, and one of our amazing staff members recently won an award… for the whole state.”
“Our nurse is very important. She doesn’t just help us when we’re not feeling well. She helps us not just with our physical ailments, but also sometimes when we’re down emotionally, (when) we just need someone to talk to. Our nurse does that for us.”
Betram explained that Cecrle remained humble after finding out she was named Nurse of the Year and didn’t want a big recognition, but he felt the assembly was much needed to celebrate her many contributions to the district.
He then introduced Dai’Onna Posey, Miss Wyoming Indian Schools, and Trissy Her Many Horses, Miss Red Willow, who presented Cecrle with flowers and Diet Coke.
“The reason we’re giving her a Diet Coke is (because) when we asked her, ‘What do you want (for recognition)?’ she said, ‘The only thing I want is a Diet Coke,’ so we’re going to make sure she gets that Diet Coke,” Bertram share with the crowd.
“All of you are the reason I do what I do,” Cecrle told the students and staff when she took to the podium. “People said, ‘oh, you’re so good with kids,’ and I was like, I don’t know, I probably am still just a kid, and that’s why I get along with them so well. But really, every day, you guys are the ones… you make me laugh, you make me cry, you keep me in style. I’m not gonna lie, you guys are the coolest kids I’ve ever met.”
“When I first came here, nobody in the state of Wyoming gave credence to school nursing on the reservation,” Cecrle continued. “They didn’t really even pay attention to some of the issues that we had. Kind of like what we had yesterday with MMIW and some of our concerns with other things that are more sensitive to what you guys know.”
Cecrle then shared that Governor Gordon even reached out to her about what being a nurse on the reservation was like after she wrote to his office.
“… the governor asked me to speak because… he wanted to know about you guys and how cool you were and why I love to do what I do. I said, ‘You have no idea.’ Every day I wake up, I learn something new from these guys, and I’m just really thankful that you still have me here. Everybody has their own path, and I think anybody, as long as they work hard and they have passion, you can make it like anybody else… You have that opportunity. You are such a gifted community.”
The Young Sky Nation drum group, comprised of students, then performed an Honor Song for Cecrle, followed by a Round Dance for all attendees.
