ISSUED: 1 June 2023
MEDIA CONTACT: Dana Costa
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — High School students from around the region were able to see what it’s like to be a Shepherd University nursing student during two one-day summer programs titled “The FUTURE of YOU: Be a NURSE” on May 31 and June 27.
Members of the Shepherd University Student Nurses’ Association (SUSNA) hosted more than 50 high school students, giving them the opportunity to participate in high-energy programs packed with nursing and science activities. The high school students toured Shepherd’s campus and engaged with current nursing students and faculty. Each participant received a stethoscope and nurse scrub top with the School of Nursing’s “The FUTURE of YOU, be a NURSE” logo.
Shepherd nursing students Nic Hopkinson, Lainey Bailey, Brittany Miller, Sam Lassahn, and Olivia Bromley, along with Dr. Lisa Zerull, SUSNA faculty advisor, guided the students through hands-on activities in the Erma Ora Byrd Hall nursing labs. The high school students spent time with Dr. Sara Reynolds and biology students Olivia Stevenson and Isabella Miller in the Robert C. Byrd Science and Technology Center microbiology lab. They were also able to tour campus and network with current Shepherd nursing students.
“We accomplished what we set out to do with the program,” said Hopkinson, lead student nurse coordinator for the program.
“These two famous quotes sum up our experiences today, ‘the whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards’ (Anatole France) and ‘Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today’ (Malcolm X),” Hopkinson said.
“It was a very amazing experience with informative hands-on stimulation,” said Spring Mills High School student Andrea Graham of Martinsburg, who attended the May 31 workshop. “It had an amazing group of staff!”
Other students commented in an anonymous survey that “The FUTURE of YOU: Be a NURSE” was a fun experience, they learned more about Shepherd’s nursing program, and they loved the hands-on activities and enjoyed looking at the pig and cow organs in the microbiology lab. Participants also gave the program high marks for the quality of high-definition simulation and creative activities involving areas such as animal anatomy and microorganisms, as well as the caring nursing students and faculty.
The School of Nursing received a $2,500 3M Littman Leadership Grants from the Foundation of the National Student Nurses Association to host the program. The grant is intended to promote and build leadership skills in Shepherd’s Student Nurses’ Association leaders and promote the University’s nursing program.
With nurses in demand across the country, the School of Nursing plans to offer multiple one-day “Future of YOU: Be a NURSE” programs in the summer of 2024 to students in grades 10-12. For more information, contact Dr. Lisa Zerull, assistant professor of nursing, at lzerull@shepherd.edu or 540-550-4903.
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