It’s barely spring, but the Cooper family has already had a busy and rewarding 2016.

Peppi Cooper is the training support manager at Alabama Power’s Plant Farley. In January, her daughter Kortney, 26, received a doctorate in nuclear chemistry, and her younger daughter, Kasey, 20, was chosen to play on the 2016 U.S. Softball Women’s National Team.

Kortney Cooper received a doctorate in nuclear chemistry. (contributed)

“We always encouraged the girls to do the things they liked,” Peppi Cooper said. “They both love science and math and grew up participating in activities and attending camps to cultivate those interests. They were also involved in sports from an early age because it’s important for girls to be part of a team, so they can learn how to fill their role to help the team succeed.”

Kortney and Kasey both earned college academic and softball scholarships after playing in high school. Kortney attended Troy University and Kasey is a junior at Auburn University. Kasey is the first Auburn player to be named an All-American in her first two collegiate seasons and the first Auburn player to be named to the women’s national team.

“They both learned great time-management skills playing collegiate sports,” Peppi Cooper said. “As student-athletes, their grades always came first.”

Kasey Cooper plays softball at Auburn University and has been chosen to play on the 2016 U.S. Softball Women’s National Team. (contributed)

That academic focus and desire to succeed both on and off the field led Kortney to Michigan State University for a master’s degree and then doctorate in nuclear chemistry. She works at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, located at Michigan State. There, she is involved in cutting-edge nuclear and nuclear technology research for both public and private sector clients. She plans to return home this spring to work as a contractor at Farley during the plant’s refueling outage.

“Kasey is beyond excited about playing for the US National Team,” explained her mom. “This is a goal she’s been shooting for since she was a little girl.”

Talent, hard work and determination got Kasey and Kortney where they are today, but mom and dad also played significant roles. Peppi was a teacher in the Dothan City School System before she began working at Plant Farley, and her husband, Jeff, teaches heating and air conditioning at Wallace Community College in Dothan.

“They didn’t play video games or have cell phones while they were growing up; instead we played sports, read books and had fun,” Peppi Cooper said. “The biggest thing we did was let them pursue what they loved and let them find things that matched up to what they love.”