Maura Cornyn is the recipient of the Mary V. Insall Scholarship for 2025. Maura graduated from Villanova University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2015. Following graduation, she began her career as a nurse on a progressive care unit at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York City. This unit specialized in treating patients with head and neck cancers, melanoma, and sarcoma. During her time there, Maura earned national certification as an Oncology Certified Nurse and became involved in educational initiatives, particularly those related to medical emergency training and preparedness. She piloted the role of having a dedicated Charge Nurse for the night shift, offering additional support and guidance to novice nurses as they transitioned to practice on the overnight shift.

In 2019, Maura joined the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Montefiore medical Center in the Bronx, New York. During the Covid-19 pandemic, she worked across the hospital in expansion ICUs, caring for critically ill Covid patients. She also coordinated donations of medical equipment, including Train of Four monitors - Peripheral Nerve Stimulators, and eye protection devices for paralyzing and proning intubated patients. At Montefiore, Maura participated in several quality improvement projects, including hospital-wide Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection (CLABSI) prevention, unit-specific interventions to improve nursing-sensitive indicators, and the development of the Difficult Airway Cart.

In 2022, Maura became a full-time student at Boston College Connell School of Nursing, pursuing a Doctor of Nursing Practice in Nurse Anesthesia. After several interactions with Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists throughout her career, she felt drawn to the role of the nurse anesthetist. Maura was inspired by their deep understanding of physiology and pharmacology, as well as their procedural expertise in a patient’s most vulnerable moments. The rigorous educational requirements to become a CRNA have been challenging but rewarding for her. She chose Boston College for its academic reputation, as well its Jesuit values. Maura is part of a group piloting a social support program for second-year Student Registered Nurse Anesthetists as they enter their clinical practicum. She is a member of the Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society, Alpha Chi Chapter.

She is deeply honored to receive the Mary V. Insall Scholarship. The full-time nature of the Nurse Anesthesia means that this scholarship award is especially valuable to her and her family, allowing her to focus more on academic and clinical requirements. Maura plans to continue her commitment to quality improvement when she transitions to practice as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist and remains dedicated to supporting and encouraging nurses at every stage of their professional journey.