From sports journalism to patient care: Chris Ronca earns statewide nursing honor

Chris Ronca, 31, is an assistant nurse manager at New York University Langone Health’s Center for Advanced Radiosurgery, and a soon-to-be family nurse practitioner pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Mount Saint Vincent. He was also recently named New York’s student nurse practitioner of the year.

Ronca, who lives in Westchester, received the 2026 Student Nurse Practitioner of the Year Award Oct. 3 from the Nurse Practitioner Association New York State, which regarded him as an “accomplished and highly motivated nursing professional in academic excellence, clinical leadership and a commitment to innovation.”

According to the association, it is the only one of its kind representing nurse practitioners statewide, and promotes high standards of healthcare through education and advocacy. The student award, which dates back to 1994, is given to those that exemplify excellence and understand the role of the association in students’ education.

In the midst of work, school and clinicals at Montefiore’s Pediatric Emergency Department, it was a nice change of pace to take a weekend off for the association’s annual conference in Niagara Falls, where Ronca and a practicing nurse practitioner received plaques, he said. Still, like other healthcare workers, Ronca was never in it for the recognition. He said he even has bouts of impostor syndrome.

UMSV Associate Dean of Graduate Nursing Alanna Kavanaugh said she was proud to nominate Ronca, who distinguished himself throughout the program, while continuing to take on responsibilities as a working nurse.

“Chris exemplifies the qualities we value in our family nurse practitioner students: a deep commitment to patients, strong clinical skills and a deep desire to serve others,” Kavanaugh said.

The son of a nurse practitioner, who was also a UMSV alum, and an emergency medical technician for the New York City Fire Department, healthcare was a familiar industry for Ronca. But it wasn’t his first choice.

A decade ago, Ronca was on the path to become a sports journalist. He was finishing his undergraduate degree at St. John’s University and interning for the New York City Football Club — a major league soccer team that plays at Yankee Stadium — when his grandma was hospitalized for congestive heart failure.

Doctors said she had weeks to live, and Ronca went back to Westchester, still commuting to Queens for classes. He became his grandma’s “de facto health aide,” helping her to the bathroom and with other daily tasks, he said. Ronca had a feeling that if someone put that effort in, maybe his grandma could get more out of life, he said.

“Little by little, she got a lot more independence back,” he recalled. “She ended up having another year of life” — another Christmas, more days spent surrounded by family, “all that stuff.”

The impact a healthcare worker could have was obvious, Ronca said, and soon after he applied for Columbia University’s post-baccalaureate pre-medical program.

All in one day, Ronca said he got a full-time job offer from the New York City FC, an internship offer from the Yankees, and an acceptance letter from Columbia. He chose to pursue healthcare.

During his studies, Ronca worked in a wet lab for Northwell Health doing breast cancer cell research, an experience he said further solidified his career choice. Hoping to break into the field faster, he enrolled in UMSV’s accelerated nursing program, and started at NYU Langone Health in 2022 after graduating. He returned to the university in 2024, and is planning to graduate this December.

When he first started at NYU, Ronca was in the Congenital Cardiovascular Care Unit, working with kids and adults in the intensive care unit. He had an inclination toward pediatrics that was sparked by his own time in the hospital at 11 years old, when a routine appendix removal surgery became complicated, he said. The breathing tube injured his trachea and led to fluid buildup in his lungs, and he coded and was resuscitated, he said. Afterward, he said he spent a week at the ICU, and developed a deep appreciation for the support of nurses.

The shift to oncology was also personal, as Ronca’s aunt died from lung cancer. She was part of a research trial at NYU that helped develop immunotherapy, treatment that now adds a decade onto some of his patient’s lives, he said. Ronca sees the medications helping people, and in a way, it’s like his aunt is there helping them too, he said.

Pediatrics and oncology both had a common thread of the “desire to just help people who are in a tough spot,” Ronca said.

Ronca’s day usually starts at 5:30 a.m. at NYU, gathering consent forms and setting up IVs for patients, or attaching a head frame for stabilization, secured by four pins in the skull. Once a week, after he gets out of work at 3 p.m., he’s in Riverdale for classes until 9 p.m. On clinical days at Montefiore, he does 12-hour shifts and sees between 20 and 30 patients, he said.

It doesn’t feel like work, Ronca said, and he’s grounded by meeting people where they are. For example, cancer patients get sick of being told that everything is okay, Ronca said, and it’s refreshing to hear “You’re right. This isn’t good. What you’re going through is really hard.” Connecting with a patient comes easier from that point on, and aside from the medical care, sometimes comfort is as simple as talking casually about your wives with one another, he said.

Ronca wants to be at work for those moments, alongside staff members he said are like family.

“I’m able to offer care and connect with people,” Ronca said. “It’s a blessing to be able to do it.”