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Headshot-Mercy-Ships-1webAs a nurse and humanitarian, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh alumna Emily Akright ’10, of Madison, has a wide range of experience from treating post-surgical and trauma patients in hospitals to providing free medical care for patients as a volunteer nurse.

Akright has been busy in the six years since graduating from UWO. She worked for five years at Johns Hopkins Hospital’s surgical intensive care unit in Baltimore, Maryland. She spent four months with Mercy Ships, a faith-based medical mission. She also volunteered on a medical disaster relief mission trip to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.

Through these experiences she has earned a 2016 Outstanding Young Alumni Award, which will be presented at the annual Alumni Awards Celebration as part of Homecoming 2016 festivities in October.

After Akright graduated with honors from UWO, she was hired at Johns Hopkins Hospital. She received the Shining Award in 2011 for clinical excellence.

Lori Wroblewski, nurse clinician at Johns Hopkins Hospital, said Akright is one of the most compassionate young nurses she has met in a long time.

“Not only did she provide excellent clinical care, but she also always provided emotional and spiritual support to her patients in need,” Wroblewski said. “She became a resource to other new nurses over the years.”

Mercy-Ships-BabywebAkright left that position to volunteer with Mercy Ships for four months, which provides free medical care by running a hospital on a marine vessel in port cities in Africa.

“This meant working shifts to provide post-surgical care to women recovering from obstetric fistulas and a month-long stint in the post anesthesia recovery unit, where we cared for patients of all ages, illnesses and surgical interventions immediately after their surgeries,” Akright said.

Akright said she is proud of her experience with Mercy Ships.

“Having the chance to be involved in physically transforming lives is humbling, invigorating and transformative to the caregivers as well,” Akright said. “I now know for certain this will not be my last experience in medical humanitarian work.”

She currently works at UW Hospital in Madison in the trauma life-support care unit.

In her free time, she is involved in local churches and enjoys traveling.

“My parents live and work in North Africa, where I also grew up,” Akright said. “Thanks to this, I have the travel bug.”

Akright said she owes much of the direction in her life to the lessons she learned at UWO.

“The teenager I was stepping onto campus my first day is far from the young professional I stepped out into the world as,” Akright said. “I was prepared to step into the world not just as a nurse, but as a whole person.”

For more information about the Alumni Awards Celebration on Oct. 21, please contact the UW Oshkosh Alumni Relations Office at (920)-424-3449 or send an email to alumni@uwosh.edu.

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