Rural doctors honor friend, launch scholarship to support future KCU students

When your values become your vocation, the impact reaches far beyond the exam room. For Kansas City University (KCU) College of Osteopathic Medicine (COM) alums Racquel Stucky, DO (COM 2015), and Brad Stucky, DO (COM 2014), medicine isn’t just a career, it’s a calling to serve those who are too often overlooked.

The couple live and practice in Garden City, Kansas, a small rural community remarkable for its diversity. Patients there represent more than 35 countries, and nearly half speak Spanish as their first language. Bilingual in Spanish, Racquel has found that this ability to communicate directly with patients has become central to her work.

“It’s such a freedom for the patient to explain in their own words what’s going on,” she said. “Language opens doors to trust, to understanding and to better care.”

The daughter of missionaries, she always imagined serving abroad. “But God knew there was a community with people from all over the world where I could serve and raise a family,” she said.

Garden City has always been home for Brad. He was inspired to pursue medicine as a young boy after reading Gifted Hands by Dr. Ben Carson. A story of perseverance, compassion and faith, Carson’s words resonated with Brad’s natural bent toward service. Returning home to practice medicine was always part of his plan.

Together, the Stuckys have committed their lives to improving health care for marginalized populations and advancing social justice through medicine. They work part time to balance professional service with raising their five children — a reflection of their belief that values and vocation should support, not compete with, one another.

Recently, the couple made a decision that speaks deeply to their commitment to caring for their community. In memory of Racquel’s late friend and University of Pennsylvania classmate, they established the Darryl J. Powell Jr., MD, Leadership Scholarship Fund, which will support KCU students who demonstrate leadership in a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) community.

Known for his joyful spirit and devotion to mentoring others, Powell served as the chief resident in the Harvard Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Boston Children’s Hospital Medicine-Pediatrics Residency Program before his unexpected death. 

“We wanted to honor his leadership and ensure his spirit continues to make a difference,” Racquel said. “We acted now so our endowment can grow and provide scholarships for people who might have fewer opportunities to attend KCU.”

Creating the scholarship was not an easy choice. The Stuckys have made sacrifices like not buying a new van for their family in order to make the gift possible.

“We wanted to do something that could change someone’s destiny,” Brad said. “Cars get old really fast, but this investment only multiplies in value. First, it’s one student’s life impacted, and then it’s tens, then thousands of patients.”

Through their generosity, Drs. Racquel and Brad Stucky embody the KCU mission—improving the well-being of the communities we serve. In doing so, they are not only honoring a friend — they are empowering the next generation of KCU physicians to carry forward a legacy of service and care for those who need it most.