This scholarship honoring Joan L. Conroy was established in memoriam in 2024 by her family, carrying out Joan’s desire to create a continuing expression of gratitude to the nursing profession. Joan received her education at Catholic schools, culminating in her B.S. degree from Trinity College in Washington, D.C. She loved music and studied the piano with a teacher from the Juilliard School of Music, which led her to consider a career as a pianist at one point.

Later, Joan received a master’s degree in education, taught for more than twenty years, and then pursued additional education in anthropology at New York University. She was a voracious reader, taught hundreds of children how to read, and after retiring continued to provide enrichment for many more years to children in the Head Start program. Joan deeply valued education.

She also valued the profession of nursing, as she was the beneficiary of the care that nurses provide to their patients. Therefore, her scholarship is devoted to infusing her love of learning by preparing nursing educators. It is given to PhD students demonstrating a passion for educating future nurses. The Joan L. Conroy scholarship underscores a special interest in geriatric nursing and home health care, which proved vital to Joan’s quality of life in later years. During her lifetime, donations from the Conroy Family Charitable Foundation were generously given to NEF to support the mission of scholarship for leadership. This scholarship is the culmination of that generosity and will continue in perpetuity to support nursing education.