PhD student awarded elite AACN scholarship
About the scholarship
UIC College of Nursing PhD student Ayo Bodunde, RN, is one of two 2026 recipients of the Deborah E. Trautman Future Nurse Scholarship from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN).
The award was created in honor of AACN’s president and CEO Deborah Trautman, and it is designed to recognize graduate nursing students who aspire to leadership positions in academic nursing.
Bodunde has more than a decade of experience in acute mental health settings. Her research is focused on the experience of gun violence survivors and their informal caregivers, with a goal of expanding access to trauma-informed resources for communities affected by violence. Her faculty mentor is associate professor Sarah Abboud, PhD, RN, FAAN.
Just two awards are available each year to students in master’s or doctoral programs at AACN member schools associated with NursingCAS (the nation’s only centralized application service for nursing programs). The scholarship is funded by Liaison International, AACN’s partner in NursingCAS.
The $5,000 scholarship includes an opportunity to participate in one of AACN’s student-focused conferences and a virtual leadership experience with Trautman.