National Nurses Week is celebrated annually from May 6 through May 12, in honor of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. For the eighth consecutive year, nurses have been voted the most trusted profession in America for their honesty and ethical standards, according to Gallup's annual survey of professions. (Source: American Nurses Association). 

We'd like to recognize our alumni nurses, many of whom have taken care of our loved ones and members of our Notre Dame community at some place or time. Among our alumni nurses are:

Leah Howdyshell '03 (NDP), who works with cutting edge research on the Neurosurgery Intensive Care Unit of Harper University Hospital in Detroit; Elizabeth Hollenkamp '01 (NDP), a pediatric oncology nurse at the University of Michigan's Mott's Children's Hospital, who uses some of the latest breakthroughs to help cure the smallest of cancer patients; Lyndsey Clements '03 (NDP), an ER staff nurse at the DMC Surgery Hospital and a Pediatric ICU staff nurse at St. John's Hospital, who also is pursuing a Masters in Nursing at Wayne State University for Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner; Nicole (Trudeau) Klimek '02 (NDP), part of Troy Beaumont's Cardiac Care Unit; Colleen (Robinson) Ellis '02 (NDP), on the Intensive Care Unit at Rochester's Crittenton; Lizzie Merrelli '06 (NDP), a nurse at St. John Providence Hospital; Jackie Garry '03 (NDP) and Sara Oles '05 (NDP), both nurses who regularly cover 12-hour shifts; Kelly Patrello '02 (NDP) and Cari Naborczyk-Strzalka '03 (NDP), Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists at St Joseph Mercy, Ann Arbor and Beaumont Hospital in Grosse Pointe, respectively. Full Story By Kelly Patrello '02 (NDP). 

The Catholic High School League announced that three former Notre Dame Prep athletes have been inducted into the CHSL Hall of Fame. Jeff Bultinck '06, Molly Coldren '08 and Brogan Wells '08 will be honored at the league's annual dinner to be held June 11 at Fern Hill Country Club in Clinton Township.
 

Bultinck played baseball at Madonna University; Coldren is a shortstop on the Central Michigan University softball team; and Wells is on the volleyball team at Hillsdale. Full Story

One day before her own high school graduation party, Ashleigh Iserman's life was tragically cut short while operating a personal watercraft on Long Lake (Oakland County, Michigan) at a friend's graduation party. While looking back at a tube she was pulling, Ashleigh collided with a boat and was killed instantly. She did not have a boating safety certificate, which is required by Michigan law, and was given the keys to this vessel by its owner without question as to her certification or experience. A deadly mistake.

In Ashleigh's memory, the Iserman family established The Ashleigh Iserman Boating Safety Foundation to help promote boating safety education in order to keep families safe while riding in boats, jet skis or other vessels on Michigan waterways.

The third-annual "Light the Lakes" 5K walk/run will be held on Sunday, June 3, at Bloomer Park in Rochester Hills from 8:30 - 10:30 a.m. Proceeds benefit Ashleigh's foundation and all alumni and friends are invited to attend. Pre-registration pricing (all prices include t-shirts): Adults $20, Youths $15, Family $70. More information and registration packet.  

John Motyka's brother, Brian "Moe" Motyka's, life was taken on October 6, 2011, in Detroit. Moe was a talented musician on his way to perform at the Harbor House in downtown Detroit when he met his untimely demise. In hopes that this tragic mystery is solved and the killer(s) is/are brought to justice, Motyka's family has planned a fundraising event to benefit Moe's Memorial Fund. 

Moe's Rock'n Blues Fest will take place on Sunday, July 8, 2012, at the VFW in St. Clair Shores. The show runs from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. and will feature a long list of professional blues musicians performing on four acres. World-class Polish and BBQ cooking from Mama Moes Kitchen will be offered, along with children's games and activites. John Motyka says, "It will certainly be fun for the whole family," and invites all alumni to attend. More event info.   

Forty-five members of the Notre Dame Preparatory School class of 2012 are considered Lifers, due to their attendance of Notre Dame Marist Academy from at least the sixth grade. And, twelve members of the class are Gold-Level Lifers, having attended Notre Dame Marist Academy's lower division through the twelfth grade.