‘I Enjoy Helping Others’: Manchester Student Named Rising Star in Nursing

MCPHS student recognized for empathy and excellence with statewide nursing award.

A nurse changed her life. Now Elizabeth Nerney is on a mission to do the same for others.

Nerney, a Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) post-baccalaureate nursing student on the Manchester campus, remembers the moment she first considered becoming a nurse. About two-and-a-half years ago, she underwent spinal surgery to correct scoliosis—a procedure that left her physically weak and emotionally exposed during a long recovery.

While in the hospital, a nurse offered a small act of caring that stayed with her.

“She brushed my hair and talked to me like a real person instead of just another patient,” Nerney said. “I needed that type of interaction in that moment because I was feeling so vulnerable, barely able to move or do anything for myself. I still look back and think, that’s who I want to be for someone else.”

That goal is already taking shape.

On April 17, she was named the New Hampshire Nurses Association’s Student Nurse of the Year Rising Star Award recipient at the organization’s annual meeting at Plymouth State University. It marks the second consecutive year an MCPHS student has received the honor.

The nomination came through MCPHS faculty, including Associate Dean Carlene Blais and nursing professors, along with input from peers in the program. Associate Professor Carla Smith said Nerney exemplifies what the nursing program aims to develop in its students.

“Elizabeth is someone who leads with empathy, thinks critically, and shows up ready to provide thoughtful, patient-centered care,” Smith said. “She brings together professionalism and compassion in a way that feels genuine.”

For Nerney, the recognition comes at the end of an accelerated 16-month program that followed a much different academic beginning. She earned her bachelor’s degree in marine and freshwater biology from the University of New Hampshire in 2023, initially focusing on a career in environmental science, as her parents did. Mom teaches environmental science. Dad is an environmental engineer. “There's no one else in my family who is in the medical field,” Nerney said.

After graduation, she worked for the state of New Hampshire, where she spent a lot of time holed up in a lab alone. “I missed people,” she said. “I enjoy helping others.” That realization, paired with her experience as a patient, nudged her into nursing

As the semester winds down, Nerney’s excitement is growing. She’ll celebrate Commencement on May 7, and before that, on May 2, the pinning ceremony, a time-honored nursing school tradition. Often more personally meaningful than graduation, pinning signifies a student's official initiation into the profession. Nerney picked her mom to pin her. “She’s been my biggest supporter,” she said.

The ceremony will mark the end of a small but tightly knit cohort of just seven students. Nerney said the camaraderie and friendships she made significantly shaped her life. “The last 16 months were the most intense of my life. It is go, go, go constantly, but we all support each other so much,” she said. “And even our professors, it feels like a family among everyone. It’s led to a great learning environment. I feel like I’ve grown as a nurse, a student, and a person.”

The experience of nursing school itself, she said, was a confidence-builder. “I’ve learned that I can do hard things and push myself,” Nerney said. “I knew nursing school was going to be so hard, but it ended up being one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done.”

Nerney has already accepted a position at Elliott Hospital in Manchester, where she will work in the surgical orthopedics unit, providing post-operative care. As she prepares to enter the profession, Nerney said her goal is simple: to carry forward the same compassion that first inspired her journey into nursing.

“I’d love to teach students everything I know someday,” she said. “It would be really fun to give back in that way and help someone else learn, just like others helped me.”