Distinguished Alumna, Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing
A tireless advocate for the nursing profession, Maureen Namrita Kotecki is this year’s recipient of the Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing Distinguished Alumni Award.
At 16, following political unrest in Fiji, Maureen moved to the United States with her sister in search of better opportunities. After attending Santa Monica College, she enrolled at UC Irvine, earning a B.S. in biological sciences before returning to complete her B.S. in nursing in 2010.
Although she initially planned to become a physician, encouragement from faculty and mentors, along with the close-knit community within the School of Nursing, changed the course of her career. As one of the program’s earliest graduates, Maureen discovered not only her calling as a nurse but also a community that became a second family.
She graduated UC Irvine with her bachelor’s in Nursing Science degree in 2010 and started working at UCI Health Medical Center in Neuroscience ICU. She simultaneously worked as a clinical instructor for Med-Surg for the UCI Nursing School. She later completed the nurse anesthesia master’s program at the Kaiser Permanente School of Anesthesia in partnership with California State University, Fullerton and built a distinguished career as a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA).
Maureen was the inaugural recipient of the Elizabeth C. Tierney Award and has dedicated herself to paying such opportunities forward. She established the Maureen Chand Kotecki Family Scholarship to support nursing students at the Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing.
Maureen remains committed to helping others discover the many opportunities within nursing, particularly the CRNA profession, by mentoring students and sharing her professional journey to inspire the next generation of nurses to lead with compassion, excellence and purpose.
Sixteen years after graduating from the UC Irvine nursing program, Maureen has continued to maintain a lifelong connection to the institution that helped shape her career.
“Maureen exemplifies the values of excellence, service, leadership and generosity that define this recognition. She represents the very best of our school and of the nursing profession, and I am honored to nominate her for this recognition.”
Join us as we honor this year’s distinguished recipients and celebrate the remarkable achievements of the Anteater community.
