Title: Registered Nurse

Company: Monroe Correctional Facility

Location: Rochester, N.Y.

Having been a registered nurse for more than 20 years, Eileen Arend continues her family’s tradition working in health care at Monroe Correctional Facility. Coming from a family of 10 nurses, health care was a natural next-step for her, as she previously had worked at a printing company as the only woman for seven years. After obtaining an Associates of Applied Science as a registered nurse, Ms. Arend earned certifications in substance abuse and corrections nursing. The advice she can share with the younger generation of women entering the workforce is that, “You don’t necessarily need to go to college but you do need to support yourself, so you need your education. Focus on your intellect more than your appearance.”

With perseverance bringing her through the thick and thin, Ms. Arend survived raising two daughters on her own, while completing her education, and currently earning more certifications. As her greatest professional accomplishment to date is when she worked in hospice and her patience and their families trusted her through the dying process, her current goal is to work with inmates in the recovery process at the detox center. Ms. Arend’s inspiration comes from when she was a little girl and was with her father in the Bowery, New York City. Innocently she made fun of the people there and her father told me that was not nice. “You have to care for people,” he said and so she has had a drive and desire to work with people that others don ‘t want to help.

Ms. Arend participate in Veterans and Breast Cancer organizations, and donates to them. She has been recognized as a Top Nurse from the International Association of Nurses in 2011. During her free-time, Ms. Arend enjoys the theater, traveling, oil painting, being out in the garden, making creative jewelry, and reading.