The Morningside College Nylen School of Nursing and the Morningside Student Nurses’ Association have named Adrienne Rochleau of Omaha, Neb., the 2019 Nursing Alumna of the Year.

The Morningside College Nylen School of Nursing and the Morningside Student Nurses’ Association have named Adrienne Rochleau of Omaha, Neb., the 2019 Nursing Alumna of the Year.

Rochleau began her career by earning an associate’s degree in nursing in 2002. She worked as a registered nurse while continuing her education, earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Morningside College in 2004. She decided to pursue a career in nurse anesthesia and went on to earn a master’s degree and doctorate.

She worked full time as a certified registered nurse anesthetist until 2014, when she began working part time in the operating room so she could enter the academic side of the nurse anesthesia profession. She is currently the nurse anesthesia assistant program director at Clarkson College in Omaha.

Rochleau will deliver the keynote speech for the opening of the 37th annual Maud Adams Nursing Research Day on Wednesday, April 10, at 8 a.m. in the Yockey Family Community Room in the Olsen Student Center, 3609 Peters Ave. Morningside undergraduate nursing students and graduate nursing students will present their research projects from 9:30-10:30 a.m. and 2-3 p.m. April 10 in various locations on campus as part of Morningside’s Palmer Student Research Symposium.

Courtney Bokemper, a senior at Wakefield High School in Wakefield, Neb., will receive the Nursing Alumni Scholarship presented in Rochleau’s honor. Bokemper plans to attend Morningside College in the fall. The scholarship is awarded each year to a student who shows potential for outstanding professionalism in nursing.

The Maud Adams Nursing Research Day started in 1983 as a tribute to the late Maud Adams, a former chair of Morningside’s nursing department. Before she came to Morningside, Adams served as a staff nurse, instructor, and administrator in various public health agencies and nursing programs.