Lori Van Walters-Truell has worked in higher education for over 40 years. A graduate of Rutgers University and an EOF alum, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry. With a passion to encourage minority students to overcome their apprehension about science, she has worked at Union County College, Bloomfield College and for the Newark Board of Education. She started as a peer tutor, went on to be a teaching assistant and then an instructor for both math and chemistry. In the chemical industry she worked as a safety technician for the flavors & fragrances industry. However, realizing the effects of exposure, she returned to higher education where she was offered a counseling position by Dr. Bobbie Jean Perdue and has worked for the program ever since that time. She enjoys the art and science of planning events and programs to empower nursing students to excel academically.
In addition to one on one counseling with students on her caseload, she is a Student Club Adviser throughout the academic year. In this capacity, she works with student leaders to develop community outreach activities in an effort to help others. She is also the Program Director for the Summer Institute for incoming students where she coordinates a team effort of the professional staff, summer faculty, guest speakers and student staff members. As a result, students are grateful to peer mentorship, bonds of friendship, having earned 3 college credits as well as getting oriented to college life prior to their first semester. She believes that when students have a teachable spirit, study hard, manage their well-being and support systems, they will inevitably progress. As a result, graduates of this program are destined to provide the best possible culturally sensitive healthcare as “Distinguished Rutgers Nurses” and gladly serve as positive role models for current students who aspire to this noble profession.