UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Abbygale Hackenberger, a Penn State Nese College of Nursing graduate student and full-time nursing instructor, has been awarded the 2021 NLN Foundation for Nursing Education Faculty Scholarship Award.
The scholarship stems from the National League for Nursing’s Foundation Scholarship Awards Program, which seeks to support diverse nurses committed to careers in academic nursing education. Awards of up to $8,000 are made to nurses enrolled in an accredited master’s or doctoral program and have completed at least one year of advanced academic study toward their degrees.
Hackenberger is a current DNP graduate student and a full-time nursing instructor in the Nese College of Nursing at the Hershey campus. Her DNP project is titled "ICU Diaries: A Pilot Program" and has implemented an ICU Diary program within a 24-bed mixed medical surgical intensive care unit to help prevent mental health symptoms associated with Post Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS).
Hackenberger is also the recipient of the 2021 AACN Continuing Professional Development Scholarship, The 2021 Susquehanna Valley American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (SVAACN) Research Grant, and the 2015 UPMC Pinnacle “Facilitator of Learning” Award.
“This scholarship has provided me support in my DNP journey, and has also solidified for me that I am exactly where I should be, doing exactly what I should be doing,” said Hackenberger. “The DNP program and the NLN award have really highlighted the important work that all nurses can do in quality improvement and nursing education. I feel immense gratitude for the recognition of my hard work, and it has motivated me to keep going, even after a very difficult year and a half.”
Sixteen scholarships, totaling $50,000, were awarded by the NLN Foundation for Nursing Education annual Scholarship Program. The awards presentation will take place during the NLN Education Summit, Sept. 23-25, near Washington, DC.
NLN President and CEO Beverly Malone said, “This year, more than any in recent memory, has proven the necessity of supporting our frontline caregivers. That is why facilitating the education of the best and brightest among them is a National League for Nursing priority.”
Visit the college’s website to learn more about the college’s DNP program or other graduate offerings.