Nicole Kupchik: First Nurse Recognized by Purdue Alumni Hall of Fame

On April 3rd, 2025, ​Nicole Kupchik was inducted into the Purdue Alumni Hall of Fame, marking one of the most meaningful milestones in her career. The inductees are described as “distinguished high-achieving leaders in their fields and involved members of their communities who have engaged with Purdue Northwest well beyond their time as students.” I sat down with Nicole to talk about what this honor means to her, key experiences that shaped her journey up to this point, and her advice for the future generation of nurses.

Q: What inspired you to pursue a career in the healthcare industry?

A: I didn’t choose to become a nurse by nature. In fact, becoming a nurse wasn’t something I envisioned as a little girl. After I graduated high school, I chose to attend a local university, Purdue Northwest, in part because I could not afford many of the other colleges I was accepted to. There, I met with a guidance counselor and told her how my grandma had recently passed away from a massive medical error. I expressed to my counselor how I would love to make hospitals safer places, and she suggested nursing. After thinking about it, I applied for the program and got accepted.

A: One of the biggest challenges in becoming a confident nurse was overcoming the fear that I faced. For about two years starting out, I would walk into the hospital with butterflies in my stomach, scared of what I was going to see. I think the biggest thing for me was making myself show up. It would have been easier to say forget it and walk away, but I made a conscious decision to conquer it and keep showing up.

Q: Can you describe a key moment in your career when you realized the impact your work was having on others?

A: One of the most profound moments of my career was at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. There, I had an idea to formalize a sepsis program in which we would pay more attention to the signs and symptoms of a patient who has an infection. Through extensive collaboration with physicians, hospital administration, and following the published research, we launched a very successful program that led to decreased mortality and significant cost avoidance. Now being 32 years in and reflecting on my career, I’d say that is one of the accomplishments I am most proud of.

Q: What does being inducted into the Purdue Alumni Hall of Fame mean to you personally and professionally?

A: I was absolutely shocked to get the call that I was being inducted into the Hall of Fame because I was an extremely average student. My motto was ‘C’s get degrees’ because I had to work two jobs while going through nursing school. When giving my acceptance speech at Purdue, I kept saying that my professors would be absolutely shocked if they remembered who I was. I am extremely proud to be the second female and very first nurse given this honor.

Q: Looking back, what advice you would give yourself when you were just starting out as a nurse given what you know now?

A: I think the biggest piece of advice I would give new nurse Nicole is to say yes to all opportunities that present themselves. I would tell her to say yes to continuing education, say yes to traveling, just say yes to any opportunity that comes her way. I think it’s super important to encourage new nurses to say yes, get involved, and seek out opportunities because you never know where it will lead you.

Q: What do you see as the future of healthcare education, and how do you hope to contribute to that future?

A: As a nurse who provides education to other nurses, I have definitely had to change the way that I deliver education. I have tried as much as possible to incorporate different approaches. I use a lot of storytelling and anecdotal examples and try to think of goofy ways of explaining things like dances and cheers. I try to make it as interactive as possible. I think what does not work in continuing education with adult learners is being spoken at. I truly feel that we need to use multi-modal approaches to providing education. The challenge comes when you have to provide a lot of education in a short amount of time. I always try to ask how I can best relay information that is absolutely essential and can be helpful to nurses at the bedside.

To help support future nursing students and support the Purdue community, Nicole also sponsored her very own scholarship: The Nicole Kupchik Nursing Scholarship Fund. In her words, “this scholarship represents her commitment to supporting aspiring nurses and their dreams of making a difference in healthcare. To all future students, this is for you!”

If you would like help to support the scholarship fund, you can visit: Giving to Purdue Northwest. Just be sure to note that your donation is for the Nicole Kupchik Scholarship. 

From her first day of nursing school at Purdue to her induction into the Hall of Fame, Nicole’s passion for patient care and empowering nurses is clear. She dedicates this honor to her fellow nurses whom she asserts are the “back bone of health care”.