Maryn Moreni, a full-time faculty member and associate professor at Arizona College of Nursing, has been at the college for almost 4 years, and her enthusiasm is contagious.
“I’m obsessed,” she says. “I love Arizona College. I feel like it’s Christmas every day.”
Moreni’s passion for her job is rooted in the supportive environment that allows her to focus on what matters most: the students. She praises the teamwork between faculty, administration, and leadership that creates a seamless support system.
“The students aren’t coming to me as their faculty with every single thing that I’m not capable of helping them with,” she explains. “It really takes the stress off me. I can help them with the content, with their critical thinking, and with all their face-level nursing stuff.”
Moreni highlights the many resources that are available to students on campus, from the NCLEX Success Specialists to student governance to tutoring services like Tutor.com and peer mentors. The College makes sure to provide robust support, ensuring students always have a place to turn. This allows Moreni to dedicate her time to teaching and mentoring.
But her path wasn’t always strictly nursing. She shares that at first, she wanted to be a doctor.
How a Doctor’s Advice Changed Her Path
Moreni’s journey into nursing wasn’t a straight line. She originally attended Arizona State with the intent to go into medical school. However, a conversation with her godmother, a surgeon, and her husband, a doctor, changed her perspective.
“I told them my plans,” she recalls. “And by the end of it, they were like, ‘let me tell you, you don’t want to be a doctor.’ I was like what? You’ve crushed my dreams!”
Her godmother and her husband then urged her to consider nursing. Moreni recalls quickly dismissing the idea. She wanted a career where she was in charge. But soon, she learned the true versatility of a nursing degree. She could become a nurse anesthetist or a nurse practitioner; there was no limit to what she could do.
A Calling to Nursing Education
Now, Moreni teaches pharmacology, what she describes as her “first love.” She fell in love with it during her NP training, thanks to a “22-year-old genius” professor who “made me understand pharmacology.” Moreni now passes that passion on to her own students.
“If I could do it all over again, I would have just gone for my master’s in nursing education and then worked my way through that,” she admits.
Her love for teaching led her to earn her Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) certification, a qualification she is incredibly proud of. She even piloted a successful program at the college to help other faculty members prepare for and pass the CNE exam. Her expertise is so well regarded that she has been asked by the National League for Nursing (NLN) to write questions for the exam itself.
Helping Students Succeed
Moreni’s dedication to her students and their careers extends beyond the classroom as she continues to take advantage of everything available to her. She constantly is doing her own research and currently serves as an NCLEX Success Specialist.
“I look at all of the NCLEX research on first time pass rates, what goes into that, and how we can help our students,” she shares. Her ultimate goal is not just to prepare her students to pass the exam on the first try, but to get them to fall in love with nursing.
Moreni strives to help her students become safe and effective nurses. She brings all different types of learning styles into the classroom, from providing potential NCLEX questions to videos to real-life stories and scenarios, sharing with her students true stories of things that have happened to nurses who have made mistakes.
She also loves coaching her students, especially the “most improved” ones. She shares the story of a student who started with only a 26% predictor of passing her NCLEX but, through hard work and self-leadership, passed on the first try. “It’s a democracy, not a dictatorship,” Moreni says, explaining her collaborative approach to student success.
Moreni is a firm believer in the advantages of having diverse backgrounds and experiences. She notes that while research shows that students for whom English is not their first language may have a reduced chance of passing the NCLEX on the first attempt, they also have a higher chance of succeeding in nursing school.
“If you can learn an additional language, you can definitely learn something like nursing,” she says, encouraging her students to view their unique skills as an advantage.
This year, one of Moreni’s biggest wins has been her use of a “classroom assessment technique,” where she asks students to share their “muddiest point” from a lecture. “When a student says they didn’t think they could do it, but now they’re confident, that is one of my biggest wins,” she shares.
For Moreni, being a nurse is all about caring for people. Her switch from a demanding clinical role to a fulfilling career in nursing education has allowed her to do just that. Through her dedication, mentorship, and boundless enthusiasm, she is helping to shape the next generation of safe, effective, and compassionate nurses.
Start Your Future in Nursing Today
If you’re considering a career as a registered nurse (RN), Arizona College of Nursing is here to help you pursue your dream. Our BSN program enables you to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in just 3 years or less with qualifying transfer credits. We’ve helped hundreds of students to earn a BSN degree and enter the nursing profession – and we’re ready to support you on your path to becoming an RN.
Why Choose Arizona College of Nursing?
- Earn a BSN degree in 3 years or less with eligible transfer credits
- Campus locations throughout the US
- Night classes for general education courses
- Hybrid Online/In-Person format for general education classes
- Nursing education is all we do
- CCNE-Accredited Program*
- NCLEX-RN success coaches and exam preparation class
- Financial aid available to those who qualify
Discover Your Path to a Career in Nursing
Information in this post is accurate as of March 23, 2026.
*The Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree program at Arizona College of Nursing is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (https://www.aacnnursing.org/). All Arizona College of Nursing and Arizona College campuses are institutionally accredited by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (https://www.abhes.org/), a U.S. Department of Education-recognized accrediting agency.