By Ruth Zamoyta
All her life, Carolyn Kryda LoBue, R.N. knew she wanted to be a nurse. At age 21, she earned a nursing diploma at Bayonne Hospital School of Nursing, and then went on to serve the hospital as an emergency room nurse for 50 years.
In the ER, she saw patients of all ages, including children with severe injuries and illnesses. She attended patients with burns, heart attacks, strokes and addiction problems. She was on the first line of defense during the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. And while every now and then there was a happy story, like a baby being born, for the most part her job was demanding, exasperating and sometimes dangerous.
Yet she thrived on the challenge, and worked until she was 71, retiring just two years before passing away from cancer in 2020.
Now, in memory of her selfless spirit, her daughter, Lisa LoBue ’93/M.B.A. ’97, a graduate of the Stillman School of Business, is leaving a portion of her estate to create the Carolyn Kryda LoBue R.N. Memorial Endowed Scholarship for Nursing. The endowed scholarship will, in perpetuity, enable countless students to prepare for careers in nursing.
In the face of a growing nursing shortage in the U.S., the LoBue Scholarship someday will help Seton Hall nursing students like Emily Guerrero, Class of 2024.
“I really wanted to have a close impact with people I worked with and serve people around me,” Guerrero said of her career choice. “This really aligns with Seton Hall’s mission, so that’s why I chose Seton Hall. I’m a first-generation college student and the first in my family to go into health care. So, my graduation is really going to mean a lot to me and my family.”
But Guerrero wouldn’t have been able to pursue her education if she hadn’t been granted a four-year scholarship. “I have the support not only of my family, but also the scholarship donors. It relieves so much stress from both me and my family.”
It was stories like this that Lisa LoBue considered when contemplating where her estate could make the most impact. “In my mind, I always thought Seton Hall and Rutgers are the two traditional universities in New Jersey that have nursing programs. I wanted to support one of them, but particularly Seton Hall, since I’m an alumna.”
LoBue herself benefited from a Seton Hall academic scholarship that covered half her tuition. “My mom paid for the other half, as well as my room and board, so I actually graduated debt-free, which is a gift by itself.”
After the Office of Career Services helped her secure an internship, she worked for 25 years at the corporation which began as AT&T and became Lucent Technologies, Alcatel and then Nokia. When told that her position was moving to Texas, she left to accept a position at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, working in their CFO group. But despite her long career in the world of business, when considering a philanthropic gift, she chose to support the field of nursing.
“Even though I worked very hard and worked a lot of hours, what my mother was doing as a nurse was completely different. It’s more people-focused. She was supporting people when they’re most in need, I was looking to really honor my mom’s memory.”
She recalls that two years after retirement, her mother was still active helping others, volunteering at a soup kitchen, a charity that provides eyeglasses to the needy and an organization that coordinates organ donations.
“I admired the fact that my mom was working in the capacity she was late in her career,” her daughter says. “And, when she retired, she was still giving back to three organizations. She was a giver.”
Ruth Zamoyta is Seton Hall’s director of advancement and campaign communications.
