Catalyst Scholarship Winner: Felix Wenwa

‍Announcing Felix Wenwa as the $5,000Catalyst Scholarship Winner!

Nursing Careers Week is proud to recognizenurses who see education as more than an individual achievement. It can also bea way to strengthen care, develop other nurses, and create meaningful change inthe communities they serve.

This year, we celebrate Felix Wenwa as therecipient of the $5,000 Catalyst Scholarship.

For more than a decade, Felix Wenwa hasbuilt a career in community health nursing, including maternal and child healthwork in hard-to-reach communities in western Kenya. Now, Felix Wenwa is readyto combine that experience with deeper education in evidence-based nursingpractice, clinical care, and leadership.

A CareerBetween the Hospital and the Home

“For more than ten years, my nursing careerhas lived in the space between the hospital and the home,” Felix Wenwa wrote inthe scholarship application.

That space has become central to FelixWenwa's nursing practice.

Much of the work has focused on mothers andadolescents, particularly adolescent pregnancy and postnatal care. Felix Wenwadescribed building trust with young mothers before developing a care plan andcontinuing postnatal follow-up beyond the standard window because importantneeds can emerge after a patient returns home.

“What sets my career apart is not onedramatic moment, but a decade of consistency,” Felix Wenwa wrote.

That consistency has meant remaining closeto patients and communities that can be difficult for traditional healthcaresystems to reach.

Turning Experience Into Deeper Expertise

After more than 10 years in nursing, FelixWenwa believes experience alone cannot address every gap encountered inpractice.

The next goal is education.

 Felix Wenwa's scholarship applicationidentifies plans to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at KenyattaUniversity, building on an existing foundation in community health nursing.

The goal is to strengthen advanced clinicalreasoning, leadership skills, and evidence-based practice while gainingknowledge that can be brought back to the communities already at the center ofFelix Wenwa's career.

That distinction matters. Further educationisn't viewed as a departure from frontline community nursing, but as anopportunity to do that work with greater knowledge and impact.

Buildinga Career That Multiplies Its Impact

Felix Wenwa's long-term vision extends wellbeyond earning another degree.

Future goals include advancing intospecialized clinical nursing, taking on nursing leadership responsibilities,pursuing graduate education, mentoring nursing students and new graduates, andparticipating in quality-improvement initiatives that can strengthen patientoutcomes and care practices.

In the Nursing Careers Week winner video,Felix Wenwa summarized the purpose behind those ambitions:

“This scholarship isn't just funding forme. It's an investment in every adolescent girl and every new mother who'sstill waiting for someone to check back on them.”

That is what makes education a catalyst.Knowledge gained by one nurse can extend to colleagues, students, patients,families, and entire communities.

ACatalyst for What Comes Next

Felix Wenwa's story demonstrates howprofessional growth and service to a community can move forward together.

 More than a decade of experience hasestablished the foundation. Continuing education offers an opportunity to buildon it with stronger clinical knowledge, evidence-based practices, leadershipskills, and the ability to mentor other nurses.

Congratulations, Felix Wenwa!

Your commitment to staying close tocommunities with significant healthcare needs while continuing to invest inyour own education embodies the spirit of the Catalyst Scholarship.

We are honored to support your next stepand excited to see how the knowledge you gain continues to reach the nurses,mothers, adolescents, and communities you serve.