Guiding Light: MATC Nursing Graduate Wins State Leadership Award

I wish I had come to MATC right away out of high school...but everyone has their own journey. I’m just glad I made my way here.

To Elle Honerbaum, nursing is an extremely active verb.

To her, nursing means not only helping to heal the sick, but also battling discrimination, fighting indifference and calling out suffering.

“Nursing is advocacy,” said Honerbaum, who earned a Registered Nursing associate degree from Milwaukee Area Technical College this month. “We need to recognize when something is wrong and stand up and say something. Nurses are in charge of a lot of healthcare policy. A lack of food, a lack of aid is a lack of healthcare. We have a duty to care.”

And Honerbaum is more than ready to lead the way. At the college’s annual nurse pinning ceremony on May 20, she received a Future Nursing Leader Award from the Wisconsin Nurses Association (WNA). 

The award recognizes outstanding students who embody the ethics and values of nursing and exemplary leadership qualities. Each nursing school in the state submits one nominee, and the WNA Awards Committee selects up to five winners each semester, said Christopher Wojnar, a WNA board member and MATC nursing alumnus who presented Honerbaum with her award. 

“You represent the best of what our profession strives for,” Wojnar said at the pinning ceremony.

MATC’s nursing instructors felt the same way. Honerbaum is a shining star in all areas, from the classroom to clinicals and beyond, they wrote in her nomination letter, which was compiled and submitted by instructor Allison Nicol.

“She is well-rounded, a hard worker, takes the initiative, thoughtful and caring,” the letter said. “She displays a strong commitment to excellence in all that she does.”

Growing up in southwestern Wisconsin, Honerbaum wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. She thought about being a doctor, a lawyer or a diplomat. After graduating from high school in 2020, she attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she studied Spanish and international relations.

Still, she felt unfulfilled. She took almost two years off and traveled. She worked on an avocado farm in Peru. She stayed at youth hostels. She reflected on her life and kept coming back to memories of her grandmother and her aunt. Both served as hospice nurses.

“They loved their jobs,” Honerbaum said. “I began to see that nursing was an area where I could make an impact right away.”

In the fall of 2022, she enrolled at MATC. She chose the college because of its high-quality nursing program and her love of Lake Michigan. She completed her prerequisite courses and started the Registered Nursing program in the fall of 2023. 

“I severely underestimated it,” she said with a laugh. “It was hard. But I made some great friends with my classmates and instructors, so I had great support. It’s hard, but you can get through it.”

In the fall of 2024, Honerbaum launched an MATC chapter of Nursing Students Without Borders, a national nonprofit organization founded in 1999 to empower underserved communities through health education. 

The organization is loosely modeled on Doctors Without Borders. “I have always admired their mission,” Honerbaum said. “They go where there is a need.”

Honerbaum recruited members and served as president. Under her leadership, the chapter collected hygiene products for community groups, volunteered at events, created donation boxes around campus to collect clothing for victims of sexual assault, and distributed tie-dyed welcome T-shirts to new nursing students. 

“I am very happy with how the group will continue,” Honerbaum said. “We have great leaders ready to make sure the chapter grows and continues to serve the community.”

In June 2025 she’ll begin her professional career as a case manager at a home hospice firm in the greater Milwaukee area, following in her grandmother’s and aunt’s footsteps.

“I love talking about death. It’s kind of beautiful,” Honerbaum said. “Most of us want to die being comfortable at home surrounded by people who love us. If I can help a family be comfortable during that time, I feel it’s such a mercy to be doing that.”

She also will start taking online classes at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to earn her bachelor’s degree in nursing. Someday she might get her master’s degree in midwifery.

“I am so happy,” Honerbaum said. “I wish I had come to MATC right away out of high school and saved myself some money. But everyone has their own journey. I’m just glad I made my way here.”