CEW+ commends Marie Jeanne’s persistence and vision for her nursing career and names her the Sarah Winans Newman Scholar.

Marie Jeanne Tuyisenge has built a highly impactful career in nursing through difficult circumstances. When Marie Jeanne was six, she lost her father, leaving her mother to care for her and her five siblings with limited financial means. Marie Jeanne persisted in her education at this young age with the support of a family friend and financial assistance from another source. She never stopped seeking further opportunities to learn. Marie Jeanne went on to study nursing sciences for seven years, ultimately graduating with a bachelor’s degree with honors in 2012. Marie Jeanne says, “I was the first member of my family to graduate from high school and this motivated me to always work hard to achieve my goals.”

Following her graduation, the university where Marie Jeanne studied offered her a nurse tutor job and for nearly a decade Marie Jeanne has continued in her role there as a nurse educator. Because of Marie Jeanne’s excellent work, the university also elected to financially support Marie Jeanne’s master’s studies in nursing and she earned her degree in 2017.

Marie Jeanne passionately believes that the profession of nursing requires nurses to continue learning and deliver up-to-date, safe, and quality patient care that contributes to improved patient health outcomes. After 15 years as a nurse, Marie Jeanne earned admission to the University of Michigan’s PhD program in nursing, where she is continuing to excel while raising three young children under five years old. Her professors and colleagues remark that she is singularly and incredibly “driven, focused, and well-prepared.”

Marie Jeanne is particularly interested in gerontology care and, following her graduation, she intends to contribute to improved gerontology care in areas of the world where gerontological care content is not integrated into nursing education. She plans to develop a tailored interventional educational model to address needed geriatric care learning and contribute to the health promotion of the elderly through adequate pre-service nursing training and professional development opportunities.

CEW+ commends Marie Jeanne’s persistence and vision for her nursing career and names her the Sarah Winans Newman Scholar.