Grosse Pointe resident Ashley Thibodeau, who will graduate with a bachelor of science degree in nursing from Boston College on May 21, was named by the Boston College Chronicle as one of five “Seniors to Remember” out of a graduating class of more than 2,000 students.

Thibodeau, the daughter of Andrea and Bob Thibodeau, is a graduate of Grosse Pointe South High School.

A member of BC’s Connell School of Nursing honors program who plans to work as a pediatric nurse, Thibodeau has served as a volunteer at Children’s Hospital of Michigan and Children’s Hospital in Boston, spending time with young patients in the hospital playroom or bringing toys and games to them when they were too sick to leave their rooms.  

Her undergraduate years at BC have also included international nursing experience. Earlier this year she traveled to Haiti to provide nursing care in rural medical clinics. She also spent a semester abroad in South Africa, where she volunteered with University of Cape Town medical students on mobile medical clinics that delivered health care services to impoverished residents of nearby townships.

“The international opportunities I had were crucial to me and are not something many other nursing programs offer,” said Thibodeau. “I came back from South Africa and Haiti with new excitement for nursing. I know I and a lot of the nursing students returned from Haiti feeling like we had really come into our own as nurses because we got to work so independently. It is really great to get out of your comfort zone.”

An All-State lacrosse player in high school, Thibodeau continued to pursue her passion for lacrosse as a four-year member of the Boston College Women’s Club Lacrosse team. “My years on the Women’s Club Lacrosse team have been among my best college memories, especially going twice to Arizona to represent BC in the national tournament,” she said.

This year she served as the club’s president and volunteered for MetroLacrosse, a skills and enrichment program for Boston area youth.