Kelly Ade Among Inaugural SUNY Healthcare Educator Scholarship Winners
Kelly Ade, a nurse at Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH), was among 12 graduate students selected to receive the inaugural SUNY Healthcare Educator Scholarship.
The awards are part of an innovative pilot program designed to expand SUNY’s capacity to educate future nurses as part of Governor Kathy Hochul’s healthcare workforce agenda.
The new program supports baccalaureate-prepared nurses pursuing a master’s degree in nursing. In return, recipients commit to a three-year faculty position at a SUNY associate-level nursing program.
The scholarship covers up to $25,000 per academic year, including up to $20,000 for tuition and fees toward a qualifying master’s in nursing degree program at SUNY, plus a $5,000 annual stipend for each year of eligible enrollment. To be considered, applicants had to be a practicing registered nurse with a bachelor’s degree in nursing and be enrolled in a master’s program in nursing.
“I am overwhelmed with an immense sense of gratitude and honor,” said Ade. “It relieves the financial stress of graduate education but also allows me the opportunity to give back to the future nursing workforce. I am so grateful to God.”
“Governor Hochul has set a clear and ambitious agenda to strengthen our future healthcare workforce, and SUNY has been laser-focused on supporting more New Yorkers to successfully enter this field through ongoing investment in our infrastructure and essential medical equipment, strategic partnerships, and academic programs,” said SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. “New Yorkers are eager to pursue careers in nursing, and we need more skilled faculty to teach the next generation of nurses.”
Ade, from Miller Place, New York, said the scholarship will enable her to focus solely on successfully completing her master’s degree in Stony Brook’s Family Nurse Practitioner program, without the financial burden.
“Career-wise, it allows me the opportunity to teach nursing students in a two-year program, which has been a long-term career aspiration for me,” she said.
Ade is currently a part-time graduate student at the Stony Brook School of Nursing, entering her second semester. She also practices as a registered nurse in the SBUH main operating room. She is interested in pursuing a career as an advanced practice provider in either cardiology or functional medicine, and long term, would like to teach as a nursing professor at the university level.
Ade credits her parents, both healthcare workers, for playing “a monumental role” in influencing her career in nursing.
“Nursing is the perfect blend of science and the art of compassion,” she said, “with the main goal of addressing the patient in a holistic way.”
Ade cites Cynthia Jorgensen, assistant director of nursing, operating room, Stony Brook Medicine, as being highly supportive of her journey as a registered nurse in the perioperative setting, and now as a graduate student.
“She promotes a positive culture in which staff are motivated to work to their highest capability, while supporting each other’s goals and aspirations,” said Ade.
For Jorgensen, it has been a thrill to watch Ade transform from a new grad to an OR Cardiac RN.
“Kelly has not only mastered the skills required for OR nursing, in one of the most complex services, but her professional growth and confidence are inspiring,” said Jorgensen. “It is a privilege to have her on our team. It is clear she will continue on in the nursing profession with strength and purpose. I look forward to seeing what she will accomplish next.”
For people considering the nursing field, Ade said the most important thing is to remember your “why.”
“You will encounter difficult moments, whether it be as a student balancing a heavy semester with your life events, or as a nurse managing a deteriorating patient,” she said. “In those moments, it’s important to remember why you chose to be a nurse and let it motivate you through those moments.”
“We’re so fortunate to have Kelly in our Family Nurse Practitioner program,” said Patricia Bruckenthal, dean and professor, Stony Brook School of Nursing. “The SUNY Healthcare Educator Scholarship is a strategic investment in the future of nursing — bringing talented nurses into education roles which will in turn expand student capacity while ensuring a resilient healthcare workforce in New York. It’s a meaningful step toward training the educators who will train the nurses of tomorrow. We look forward to the impact Kelly will have on our future nurses.”
— Robert Emproto