LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Ashley Walbruch was nominated by her superintendent, Bill Ihrke.

Mrs. Walbruch oversees four different buildings and serves 1,445 students. In addition to her full-time nursing duties, she has also been the District COVID Coordinator. She has simply done a fantastic job with the students, families, and staff. Her leadership in the past 14 months has also had her working with contracted services like maintenance, food service, and bussing. Performing her daytime nursing duties, while also doing contact tracing on evenings and weekends, is above and beyond expectations.

Mrs. Walbruch has taken on every challenge thrown her way, including COVID-19 testing. She has also worked with the Minnesota Department of Health, Wabasha County Public Health, and the Mayo Clinic to help bring their resouces to students and staff. She was involved in setting up vaccine clinics on campus for staff and students. Mrs. Walbruch has also supervised two part-time nurses, and has done an outstanding job delegating and making their experiences meaningful.

"Ashley is always professional and has a tremendous bedside manner. Her professionalism with students, staff, and families is incredible, and she is always reliable. She deals with so many situations, and is completely confidential and reasuring for all that are involved with her," said Ihrke. "Ashley's impact on our school and community has led to an atmosphere of respect and confidence. She has been the right person to lead our Health Office when we needed it most!"