Georgie Burgess
2 December 2025: Joining a long line of illustrious nursing students, Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»³öÆ· second year Bachelor of Nursing student Becky Pillidge is the seventh recipient of the Caring for Older People Excellence (COPE) Award.
The annual award acknowledges a nursing student’s service to those in aged care, and was created in honour of the late Dr Sarah Cope, who was passionate about improving aged and dementia care.
This year’s award was presented by Dr Cope’s father Ernie Bell. He brought a touch of humour to the event and shared treasured memories of his daughter’s childhood, in particular her passion for hot rod cars – which he also credits for sparking her passion in aged care.
“The hot-rodding world is not just about cars, it’s a whole community and it doesn’t matter where you go, you’re part of a family – my son is turning 49 on Monday, and he’s a junior member so you can imagine how old the rest of us are!
“You listen to the old hot rodders talk about how they’ve got a ball joint gone ... ‘I’m overheating’, ‘my oil pressure’s dropped’, ‘the rear end’s not working’, and ‘I need a wheel alignment’. So, you can see where she got her passion from to look after older people.”
In her acceptance speech, Ms Pillidge reflected on how deeply humbled she was to have earned this recognition and promised to continue to contribute towards the collective strength of the nursing profession.
“I unfortunately never got to meet Dr Cope, but I have heard that she met challenges with energy, generosity and a fierce commitment to make things better,” she said.
“I stand here today feeling honoured and motivated. But improving care for older people is a challenge not solved overnight, and it is a quest that has been ongoing for a while. It is going to take many minds, hearts and an incredible amount of persistence, but that challenge is exactly what makes the work and journey so meaningful.”
Describing the award as ”one of the real highlights” of their time studying at the University, 2024’s winner Elliot Downes also attended this year’s event, and shared the profound impact the award has had on their life.
“This award not only gave me the support I needed to complete my studies, it also brought me into a community of people who are passionate about gerontological nursing,” they said.
Addressing the nursing students, Elliot spoke on the growing need for passionate nurses in aged care.
“As nurses, we need to create a world that’s fit for us all to grow old in – so keep doing what you’re doing, and you’ll find that a lot of opportunities will come your way.”
This year’s COPE Memorial Lecture was presented by the University of the Sunshine Coast and Cisco Research Chair in Digital Health and Ageing, Associate Professor Alison Craswell, and hosted by the Cisco Innovation Centre and the UC Faculty of Health.
Professor Craswell delivered a two-part presentation first on ‘Geriatric Emergency Department Intervention (GEDIs), delirium and digital health: the future is here’and then on her current work of ‘Translating research in practice to create equity in care with older adults’.
In honour of Sarah’s enthusiasm for classic cars, Meteors Hot Rod Association and Mustang Owners Club of Australia brought their cars for display at the event and have previously donated to the Dr Sarah Cope Memorial Fund.
If you would like to find out more about the fund or to make a donation, visit the website here.