Inspiring students to help vulnerable populations

Mary Lashley is a Towson Tiger through and through. Lashley, who graduated summa cum laude from Towson University with a bachelor’s degree in nursing in 1981, has spent her entire teaching career at the university.

“My TU education prepared me for my life’s work,” Lashley attests. A member of the TU nursing department faculty since 1986, Lashley is also a strong advocate for the Helping Up Mission, a homeless provider organization and residential recovery program that serves 500 men and up to 250 women and children in downtown Baltimore. “My passion is teaching students to use their education for a meaningful purpose beyond themselves.”

Each semester, undergraduate students in Lashley’s public health nursing class and other volunteers help her host a health fair at the Mission, and graduate students create and implement wellness programs for its residents.

“My students are using their knowledge and skills to have an impact. They are learning to develop health programs for some of the most vulnerable populations in the community to achieve more positive health outcomes,” explains Lashley.  

“ My TU education prepared me for my life’s work. ”

Lashley was moved by the stories of transformation when she first learned about the Mission. “Years later, I am a nurse consultant and board member,” says Lashley, who was a driving force in establishing the Mission’s Center for Health and Wellness and an oral health program that has provided restorative dental care to more than 1,000 men. 

Her service to Towson University and the community has not gone unnoticed. Lashley is a past recipient of the University of Maryland System Board of Regents Faculty Excellence Award in Public Service and the Dean’s Alumni Recognition Award.