Awards

No one knows this, including her, but I lost my mom in a car accident in the middle of the semester. I couldn’t imagine going on without her or taking care of patients any longer. I was going to withdraw and give up nursing. When I went to class, I was listening to her lecture and feeling her enthusiasm and love for nursing. I remember hearing about how she had lost her mother and how hard it was for her. I almost started crying in class that day, but I remember her making me laugh instead. In clinical that week, I struggled to figure something out with one of my patients. She told me I was a stronger person than I knew. Later that day, I saw her with a patient and I remember thinking, she probably thinks about her mother every day too. I decided at that moment that I could do it. I never got the courage to thank her, but she’s been my inspiration and I will never forget her.

She is an amazing instructor who engages her students with humor and authenticity. Her course work is relevant and she kindles the inner drive in her students to strive and reach their fullest potential. She truly cares about her students as individuals and real people. Her class has helped me remember why I decided to become a nurse and she has inspired me to show leadership by continuing my education and enrolling in a doctorate program.