In the spring of 1970, 16 ambitious young women graduated from the nursing program of Eastern Mennonite College. Fifty years later, nine of them gathered to swap stories of careers and degrees, relationships, births, and losses. While they had hoped to see one another in person at the 2020 Homecoming, the class met over Zoom due to the pandemic. 

These 16 students were the very first to graduate from the newborn nursing program. 

Professor Melody Cash met some of these alumni during a “Nursing Through the Decades” panel also held during Homecoming weekend.

“It was such a privilege to be able to engage with some of these alumni,” Cash said. “I was moved by their passion for nursing and so impressed by the impact they have had on the nursing profession, the healthcare system, and the world!”

As for the virtual reunion, “two and half hours was not enough to cover 50 years for all of us!” said Cynthia Toman ’70 of Ottawa, Canada. She sleuthed and called and emailed around for two years, tracking everyone down to invite them to the reunion. With threads of information gathered from EMU, social media, and friends of friends of friends, “eventually we did reach everybody!” Toman said. 

A few classmates had passed away in the intervening years, but Toman was surprised to find that “one of the three people we thought were dead, we found was alive!”

Toman had tried to look up obituaries for the classmates who had passed away, to include them in a 50-page PDF booklet she, Yvonne Yousey ’70, and Pat Powell Tiller ’70 assembled with updates on each graduate’s life. But she couldn’t find an obituary for Doris Martin Thompson ’70. Eventually, Tillman’s sleuthing enabled Toman to make contact with Thompson, and “she was absolutely delighted to be declared not dead!” Toman said.

The group then had to find a day and time when most could meet virtually, joining from Oregon in the west all the way to France in the east. They settled on October 18, following the Homecoming worship service. Toman said that, after just an email or two, she was chatting with her classmates “like we were back in school,” remembering whose clinical uniform “was too short” or the time they practiced giving one another injections.

“You know, you watch yourself grow up through those experiences,” she reflected. “We were so very young, too, to come out of a program within four years, and we were then the ones who gave care to those in need.”

“It has been delightful for me to reconnect with those in my class who are still with us,” said Yousey, who now lives in Littleton, Colo. “When we graduated from college all those many years ago, we scattered and I did not keep in close contact with anyone.”

Yousey and Toman both hit the ground running after graduation. Yousey became an advanced practice nurse and certified pediatric nurse practitioner, and worked in safety net clinics in underserved areas of Colorado and North Carolina. She also provided primary care in school-based health clinics in Colorado. 

Toman started her nursing career in Intensive Care Units before doing a voluntary service term in Puerto Rico with her husband Earl. They were stationed in such a remote area that she was the only healthcare provider for an hour in any direction, and their “VW van was the community’s ambulance.” 

Toman and her family then returned to Canada, where she worked in critical care once again, and raised her children.

Both nurses went on to earn doctoral degrees – Yousey in health and behavioral science from the University of Colorado, Denver and Toman in history from the University of Ottawa, with special interests “in the history of healthcare and the history of nursing,” Toman said, such as the “political and socioeconomic influences” that led to modern nursing.

After earning their PhDs, both women went on to teach nursing – Toman at the University of Ottawa, and Yousey at Regis University; University of North Carolina, Charlotte; and University of Northern Colorado, Greeley.

“I enjoy lifelong learning, an idea that was promoted when I was studying at EMU, and as a result found myself regularly returning to school,” Yousey said.

Toman agreed that the educational foundation laid at EMU prepared her for how the rest of her career would unfold. 

“I think it totally changed my life and set me on a path of service, and helped me to see my work as an extension of service – to see that it was more than earning a paycheck. It was about carrying out my faith in the process of caring for people, and our lives were never the same,” she said. 

Speaking to students of today, both nurses stressed their love for the field. 

“I believe more than ever that nursing is a wonderful profession and a key player in the healthcare arena. It offers a unique perspective on health that is essential and provides the opportunity to practice in a myriad of roles and different settings,” Yousey said. “Studying nursing is grueling, but the rewards and opportunities it affords as a profession are well worth it.”

“For me,” Toman said, “nursing is a privilege, and an incredible opportunity just to be with people, to walk with them through an illness experience. And you are caring for more than just the individual: a whole family, a whole community at times.”

Spring 2020 marked the first graduation for seven students in ��ݮ���� (EMU) and Goshen College’s joint Doctor of Nursing Practice program. The grads are from three states and work in nursing education, hospital administration, family practice, and the public school setting.

The new program was accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education last year. Its aim is to prepare nursing professionals to lead within dynamic healthcare systems.

“Creating this program was an amazing, challenging and energizing experience,” said program co-director Melody Cash, who teaches nursing at EMU. “When we gathered our first cohort together for our in-person residency, there was such a sense of excitement and realization of a dream. The cohort of students bonded immediately and stood ready to tackle the program together.”

Co-director Ruth Stoltzfus, a professor at Goshen College, said that graduates of the program “are well positioned to identify areas in their place of employment where innovations are needed,” and leave “prepared to be change agents.”

The program requires intense coordination between the institutions, but benefits from expertise across faculty.

“There are so many things that give me joy in this partnership. One of the biggest joys is the people at EMU,” Stoltzfus said. “I think that Melody and I complement each other in our gifts that we bring as program co-directors.” 

“We are often thinking the same thing at the same time,” Cash agreed. “We are of one mind. When we occasionally have different viewpoints, we talk it out and come to compromise without difficulty.”

Meet the graduates below.

Mary K. Bowser

Mary K. Bowser hails from Harrisonburg, but has been working in and studying from Greenville, South Carolina, where she works in clinical nurse education at Prisma Health. She will relocate soon to Roanoke to work on the clinical decision unit at Carilion Clinic.

“Mary K. brings a lot of energy to the program,” Cash said. “Her recent experience as a bedside nurse drives her to create change that drives improved patient outcomes for mothers and babies!”

“Despite all of her transitions, Mary K has kept a positive spirit,” Stoltzfus said. “She has a passion for enhancing the safety of women during delivery and immediately after-delivery.”

Bowser’s DNP project, “Application of a Nurse-driven, Evidence-based Change Project to Quantify Blood Loss at Delivery,” was partially implemented at Prisma before the pandemic. The project changes the way healthcare providers estimate new mothers’ blood loss from giving birth, better quantifying it so they more quickly diagnose serious postpartum hemorrhage.

“I think that’s really important about the DNP program … to really do something that affects patient care,” Bowser said. She especially appreciated the organizational leadership class taught by Professor Don Tyson, which “closed the loop” in her understanding of “how to be a more effective leader.”

Joan Deal

Joan Deal of Lynchburg, Virginia, is the vice president of acute care nursing at Lynchburg General Hospital. Deal was drawn to that line of work because she loves “working to positively influence the work environment of our nursing caregivers and our patient outcomes.”

Cash noted that Deal’s management role in such a large healthcare system comes with long hours and a multitude of responsibilities. “Joanie’s position as a nurse leader is very demanding, yet she somehow manages to balance her role with a challenging academic program,” she said. 

“Joanie is a leader and a manager and a nurse. Even though she no longer works as a point of care (bedside) nurse, she has not lost sight of patient needs and safety measures,” Stoltzfus added. “That is a driving force behind her project.”

Deal’s DNP project, “Use of a Needs Assessment to Design a Mobility Program,” also morphed due to COVID-19. In response, she’s been working on a needs assessment and gap analysis around patient movement, “with the planned project deliverable to be a plan for a comprehensive patient mobility plan. The ultimate goal for later implementation of this plan is to reduce hospital-associated injuries such as pressure injuries and fall, and to reduce length of stay for patients.”

She said the program has helped her connect “best practices from literature, clinical experiences, and patient values into everyday practice,” and taught her how to implement change. 

“As leaders we are always embracing and encouraging others to embrace organizational changes,” Deal said. “This program has helped me to better understand the differences between ‘change’ and ‘transition.’ From my studies I hope and believe I am becoming a more compassionate leader.” 

Pam Dressler

Pam Dressler teaches in the Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences, School of Nursing at Mary Baldwin University in Staunton, Virginia. 

“Pam has a passion for evidence-based practice. She was able to connect this passion with the needs of an organization allowing her to slip seamlessly into her DNP project,” said Cash. “Pam is level-headed, thinks critically and has high expectations.”

She added that Dressler has participated in the program’s management oversight board meetings and provided valuable feedback as faculty and staff fine-tune the program.

Stoltzfus said Dressler is “a systems-thinker and an educator. She always seems so serious but beneath that seriousness is a layer of humor that bubbles up at the right time.”

“Throughout my long career in nursing, I have enjoyed teaching others as they entered or advanced in the nursing profession, which is a unique appointed position to serve others,” Dressler said. She feels the DNP program has advanced her “practice of nursing as a nurse educator.”

Her project, “Readiness and Resistance, Building a Culture of Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing: A Community Hospital Approach,” is a “direct approach to improving patient outcomes through making clinical decisions from the best possible evidence,” she said. 

Dianne Hannak

Dianne Hannak is a certified school nurse in the York Suburban School District near her home in New Freedom, Pennsylvania.

“She cares deeply for her students and for the staff that help her care for them,” said Cash. “Dianne sees the effects of trauma on kids on a daily basis which led to her DNP project. It is so encouraging to see a school nurse pursue a DNP. We need school nurses practicing at this level and with the skillset that the DNP prepared nurse brings to the role.”

“I love being a school nurse because I know that a healthy learning is a better learner and we are in the ideal position to help support students and families and fill gaps in health care that often go unnoticed,” Hannak said. 

Her DNP project, titled “Trauma Informed Care in School Health,” addresses one of those very important gaps. Through it, she’s introducing mental health training and a trauma-informed care toolkit to school nurses in her district so they can “help support the social and emotional needs of students who visit the health room.”

Hannak fondly remembers her statistics course with Professor Daniel Showalter, which was a subject she used to avoid. Now, though, “I want to work more with data collection and analysis to help support the very important role that school nurses have in caring for the physical and emotional well being of students. The skills that I learned in this course will benefit me in so many ways,” she said.

Deena Elizalde 

Deena Elizalde of Goshen, Indiana, is a family nurse practitioner at Goshen Family Physicians. For 13 years, Elizalde has cared for a variety of patients, with clinical expertise in primary care.

“Deena has successfully balanced her professional world of practicing as a FNP in private practice, her private world of being a single parent of two teenage children, and her academic world of being a doctoral student as well as preparing to teach a course that she developed,” said Ruth Stoltzfus, co-director of the program.

Elizalde’s DNP project focused on the development of a mental health course for Primary Care Family Nurse Practitioners. The course has been implemented at Goshen College, where a “Mental Healthcare for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses” course is currently being taught.

“As a preceptor for GC family nurse practitioner students for many years, I was familiar with faculty and the program, and was delighted to be considered to help with the new course,” she said. “I am hopeful that as we improve education for FNP students, we will ultimately improve mental healthcare.”

Patti Gasper

Patti Gasper of Elkhart, Indiana, has been a nurse for over 26 years, with a specialty in cardiology. She is currently employed by Beacon Advanced Cardiovascular Specialists in South Bend.

“I am passionate about working with patients with cardiac arrhythmias, in particular atrial fibrillation,” Gasper said. “I believe that women need better access to all cardiovascular care across the lifespan as evidence is emerging regarding the effects of childbearing and other female-specific issues on heart health.”

Gasper’s passion and understanding of important classroom concepts have been apparent during her time in the DNP program.

“Patti can be very quiet in class, but when she speaks, she speaks wise words that hit the heart of the matter,” Stoltzfus said. “Patti seems to be able to effortlessly write in a scholarly manner as well as engage in clinical and academic conversations in a professional manner.”

“I feel blessed to have learned a great deal through the course of this program, particularly the skills to serve at the forefront of efforts to implement new models of care delivery to improve patient care,” Gasper said.

Gasper’s DNP project, “A Competency-Based Checklist to Facilitate Transition for Novice Nurse Practitioners in Cardiology,” provides a cardiology-specific checklist during orientation, working to improve patient access to timely cardiovascular care.

“The first year of nurse practitioner practice is a particularly vulnerable period for new graduates,” Gasper said. “Evidence in the nursing literature suggests that if this transition from expert nurse to nurse practitioner is not well supported, new practitioners may not only feel frustrated and isolated, but may also choose to leave their positions. This is not only costly to a healthcare system, but may leave patients without access to a provider.”

Later this month, Gasper will present her project to the American College of Cardiology section for advanced practice nurses.

Jewel Yoder

Jewel Yoder teaches at Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana, where she anticipates starting her new role as chair of the nursing department this July. She also serves as the director for the BSN and RN-to-BSN programs.

“Without this program I certainly would not have had the qualifications to be promoted to department chair,” Yoder said. “So, it is a launching point for me to continue to expand my nursing leadership skills in the academic arena.”

“I’m eagerly looking forward to working with Jewel in her new role,” said Cash. “She brings a passion for nursing education that will make her a great colleague.”

Yoder’s project, “Seamless Academic Progression in Nursing an ADN to MSN leadership Program Development,” is working to build a new nursing leadership program using existing resources at Goshen College. This project also focuses on seamless matriculation from the associate degree to the master’s degree. 

Yoder says if all comes together as planned, the program will be considered for launch in the 2022-23 academic year.

“There is such joy in the pursuit of knowledge,” Yoder said. “That following your passion and being empowered to create change is meaningful and yet hard work.”

This was neither the end of the semester we anticipated nor the graduation we expected, but it is the semester we have completed and the graduation we celebrate, said Dean David Brubaker this past weekend to a virtual celebration for graduates from the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding.

Those words encapsulate the whirlwind experience of the last nine weeks, as our semester was completely disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

This was not the semester we anticipated, but it was the semester we completed.

And what choice did we have but to persevere, adapt, be flexible and patient, flatten one curve as we were being slung faster on an accompanying learning curve of what exactly to do with ourselves, our bodies and minds in this strange new world.

The following collection of photos and text is a snapshot of the semester, collected in real time and revisited now, for those of you who are more peripheral to EMU. It might help to give a sense of how faculty, staff and students responded in and out of classroom — in true EMU fashion, with resilience, empathy and commitment.

Here we go (online)!

Some of the first on campus to sense an impending switch were employees in Information Systems. They began thinking about remote learning during EMU’s spring break the first week in March, and in anticipation, beefed up their HelpZone articles on a variety of relevant topics.

By March 12, when EMU announced a move to online learning, IS had reviewed and increased capacity of all systems and equipment (including webcams, laptops and Chromebooks) necessary for online teaching and campus operations. Needless to say, they were busy.

Two graphs from Jenni Piper, director of User Services, tell the story:

First Helpdesk Tickets. The green line shows last year’s demand and the blue line this year’s.

And second, the number of daily Zoom meetings hosted through the campus account, beginning in early March.

After hosting a training for faculty March 13 and the shift to online the classes the next week, IS handled 64 tickets on March 16, something of a watermark that shows when faculty and staff began to engage with the reality of a move to remote work.

Pedagogues thinking positively

About 10 days into the online shift, I asked a few professors how things were going. Some of their answers are included below. I was particularly struck by the positive perspective of veteran educator Carolyn Stauffer, professor of applied social sciences:

In reality, what we’re experiencing now is the presence of hybrid education. We’ve had the chance to meet in-person for the first part of the semester and now I get to know each participant’s online presence as well. It’s wonderful to be able to build on the assets of both sides of that equation!

Solo field trips

Professor Doug Graber Neufeld‘s “Natural History of the Shenandoah Valley” course syllabus was packed full of fantastic field trips to local natural wonders and lab experiences (like taxidermy practice below).

With his students scattered in mid-March, the field trips turned into independent explorations, such as Katelyn Dean‘s below. Here she holds morel mushrooms she and her dad found in the George Washington National Forest, just one find shared during class time.

“It’s the highlight of my day to hear students who daily recount the joy they find in now recognizing the animals, plants and rocks around them,” Neufeld said. “In such unusual times, experiencing the beauty and complexity of the natural world together has been a unique source of hope for us.” Read more about this class.

Conversations continue

In Professor Marti Eads’ class “Ways of War and Peace,” students met virtually with Reverend Masayuki Sawa, the pastor of a Reformed (Calvinist) congregation in Japan. He spoke of his perception of contemporary Japanese attitudes toward World War II and Japanese perceptions of the US and our own military actions, then and now, among other topics.

The class was slated to visit the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. Instead, guest speaker Gillian Steinberg, an educator at the Salanter Akiba Riverdale Academy in the Bronx, and her students from the Modern Orthodox Jewish tradition met online with EMU students.

This conversation and the de-brief afterwards held richness and nuance, Eads said, with several classmates opening up about their own religious experiences, choices and identities. Recognizing the common humanity, despite labels — “just the idea of all of us sitting together talking and all of us from different groups” was a moving experience, said one of her students. []

Creating community with virtual high fives

Engineering professor Esther Tian (pictured above at top right) continued teaching synchronous classes, preferring the structure and the presence of students. “It is also good for students to see each other and talk to each other before class as they would in a classroom.

We do high fives, thumb-ups (and downs) during class, we find out new features of Zoom and use them right away. It has been fun. I also found that one-on-one and small group Zoom sessions were working really well in answering students’ questions as well as advising..”

Senior Collin Longenecker, visible below Tian in the photo above and also at right, was an embedded tutor with a first-year engineering course. Though initially he wasn’t sure how Zoom sessions would work, he adapted well: “The students pop in and out and they can share their screen with me. It is almost like I am in the engineering lab looking over their shoulder trying to help them troubleshoot the problem. I have been helping a few students that I had not helped before we went to online school which is cool.”

Read more about EMU tutors at work during online classes.

The power of community to enhance learning was the top tip in a blog post titled ” by Dean (and chem prof) Tara Kishbaugh for fellow organic chemistry teachers using the same texbook. “Community Matters,” she began. Use the relationships that have already been built to help students continue asking questions and learning in small peer groups. And she reminded readers, you can still greet each student individually when they enter your Zoom classroom.

Tech fails/wins: ‘chipmunky’-ness and new relationships

Professor Mark Sawin teaches U.S. History 103, from World War I to the present, with a focus on “power and paradox.” Sawin tried to do a synchronous class on Zoom and “it rather hilariously and spectularly failed,” he reported.

“So, since then, I’ve been pre-recording all my lectures on Panopto so students can watch them asynchronously, and with that program, you can adjust my speed. At 1.5 speed, I start to get rather chipmunky… at .5 speed I sound like the television show ‘Drunk History.’ I’m not sure if that amuses students, but it certainly amuses me.”

With the lectures available at any time, he began using normal class time as an open forum where students could drop in and ask questions.

“I’ve had some wonderful 1-on-1 conversations with students that I would never have had in our normal class setting. In this sense, our ‘social distancing’ has actually provided some closeness that wasn’t there before, and for that I’m grateful,” Sawin said. “I’ve also been pleased and touched by the grace that students have extended to us as we struggle to move our classes online. And I believe we, too, are showing that grace, focusing on the learning objectives and the big important ideas, and allowing a lot of latitude when it comes to the many wifi issues, isolation stresses, and general quarantine chaos we’re all learning to live with.”

Grace and connection

That grace is something education professor Paul Yoder has also experienced. Students in his classes are pre-service teachers and as a pedagogical specialist himself, the shift to online classes provided ample room for discussions around topics related to the digital classroom.

He wrote: “The key word in my planning for weekly class sessions via Zoom has been connection. We have taken time for each of the 18 students to rate how they are doing on a scale of 1-10 and then share with the group. Last week I sent individual emails as a follow up to the few students who placed themselves on the low end of the scale. I have also been excited to hear from some of my advisees who have shared their affirmations of how professors are providing flexibility as needed.  Particularly as we recognize that not all of us have the same level of internet access, I know that living into an ethic of care is essential.”

Nancy Heisey, seminary dean, also used check-ins with her classes, which often included adult students who juggled many responsibiliities, including pastors working in ministry settings.

“We take time every period to share ‘how it’s going’ and encourage one another. Some students are struggling with a household where everyone is working on line in a crowded space—spouse tele-working, children trying to do homework, and seminary student worrying about class work and how to get a video service up for their congregation’s Sunday service.

“I’ve been amazed, though, at the depth of engagement—this morning, my New Testament students each did a creative rendering of a parable of Jesus. They were funny, sobering, and encouraging!”

Hearing some of those needs led seminary professor Sarah Bixler to host an April 1 online gathering that drew 32 pastors, including 22 alumni, from four denominations and eight states. This has led to a free online series for pastors. Check it out here.

A wider global market for CJP

Innovation happened quickly during the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding’s facilitation class, co-taught by Professor Catherine Barnes and Amy Knorr. Students usually practice skills they’ve learned in person by helping clients with a planned discussion, strategic visioning or group dialogue. With face-to-face options limited and practice still required, students moved online.

Above, one group produced an online strategic planning for Shenandoah Green, a local environmental group, including a circle process, a historical reflection using a digital timeline that folks could fill in, and a card sort, a way of getting ideas out into the open and then grouping them together. “Board members at Shenandoah Green were delighted,” said Knorr, who helps coordinate practice settings for CJP students.

In the midst of the pandemic, CJP also hosted several online gatherings for alumni to connect and share resources.

And significantly, center staff moved quickly to adapt the Summer Peacebuilding Institute to online classes, expedite a new hybrid graduate degree program in transformational leadership, and prepare upcoming semester classes for online delivery.

The massive disruption and accompanying move towards online learning and programs have created new opportunities, said Executive Director Jayne Docherty, especially in a previously untapped market of prospective participants who could not have afforded to travel or would not have been issued a visa in the current environment.

“In the face of the pandemic, many people are waking up to the fact that our societies have become more unequal and unjust and that we are teetering on the edge of violent confrontations between social subgroups. Some of those people are saying, ‘This can’t continue. This is just wrong. What can I do? I want to be part of the solution.’ By moving our programs online quickly, we have helped channel their energy and impulse to help others in ways that prevent violence and address injustices.”

’12 hours ahead of our students’

As daily reports arrived into faculty in-boxes about the closure of practicum and internship placements to students, the nursing department focused on making sure their seniors could graduate on time and join the fight against covid-19.

For one cohort, that meant three 12-hour shifts at a local hospital. For others, they logged clinical hours (and their supervising professor also took calls) at a special covid-19 public health hotline.

“The faculty were meeting hour to hour, staying 12 hours ahead of the students as we were making decisions,” said Professor Melody Cash.

Eventually, a waiver allowed faculty to substitute simulation hours for live clinicals and all 16 seniors finished out the semester in good standing, ready to join the workforce.

It’s the small things…

Marci Frederick (above), director of Sadie Hartzler Library, and Professor Kevin Seidel dressed in academic regalia in honor of their senior seminar students for their last Zoom class meeting.

Congratulations, EMU family, on the end of the semester we did not anticipate.

We celebrate.

We have amazing dedicated faculty and a dynamic leader who brought us all together to put together a game plan that works. And students who trusted us and were ready to go with what we proposed. Everyone pitched in. EMU nursing shines in moments like this.

-Professor Kate Clark

Nursing majors at ��ݮ���� can expect the spring semester of their senior year to be challenging, exhausting and hectic – with required clinical hours, difficult coursework, and demanding oral finals being just part of the equation. Seniors also take Kaplan tests and three 8-hour days of review as prep for the NCLEX-RN board exam.

The 2020 spring semester provided all of this and more in a dizzying acceleration caused by a historic global pandemic that would eventually end face-to-face classes and restrict access to clinical sites and  for these 17 students preparing to enter the healthcare profession – and the frontlines of COVID-19 – in just a few short months. 

Melody Cash, ���ѱ�’s nursing department chair with more than 30 years experience in the nursing profession, simply shook her head when asked if she had ever experienced anything like the COVID-19 pandemic:

I’ve never experienced anything like this before. This is truly an extraordinary time. We’re already in a nursing shortage and this is exacerbating it. We are doing everything we can to get these students to graduate on time and enter the workforce. 

Everything was changing so fast. We went from face-to-face classes and some normalcy to constant evaluation of students in clinical placements. Eventually we temporarily suspended online classes for seniors and focused entirely on meeting requirements for our Level 3 students who were closest to graduation. 

For clinical rotations, the 17 seniors are divided into three groups. Some were at a regional jail with plans to continue at a local pediatric practice and the Harrisonburg Free Clinic, while the third group was just about to start at Sentara RMH. 

The faculty were meeting hour to hour, staying 12 hours ahead of the students as we were making decisions.

I’ve been so impressed with the professionalism of the students. We often see this in our seniors, but this time was a little earlier than normal. They start to click into that professional nurse role. 

At the same time as nursing students expressed steadfast resolve and professionalism, the sheer scope of the crisis was overwhelming.

Student: ‘Nursing is educating’

Senior Aaron Gusler said nothing in his education had prepared him to enter a healthcare crisis at this level. “I don’t even think that health professionals with years of experience are really ready for what’s to come, simply because this is so unprecedented,” he said.

We are seniors, which put us in the tough position of trying to meet the required number of clinical hours while maintaining safety. To try and meet these goals, a small group of students had clinical rescheduled to three consecutive 12-hour days, an attempt to pack in as many hours as possible before the COVID-19 situation got too risky for us. We went through these as scheduled, and had another 36 hours to complete either online or in the hospital…Doing 3 12’s in a row was a great experience for me, as this is the typical workweek for a new nurse.

Senior Joy Driver, also in that group, said the past several weeks have demanded flexibility and patience.

Initially when I thought I was not going to be able to participate in any adult health clinicals, I became fearful because I felt as though I needed to check my assessment and prioritization skills through this experience. These realistic days allowed me to achieve that goal … The other day a patient in the hospital asked me if I was fearful coming to work because of the COVID pandemic. I said not at all. Those people need care just as much as the next. And we take precautions to protect ourselves so we can continue to care for these individuals. 

I am reminded of stories from the Bible at this time when people feared going near those who were sick and “unclean.” Not only do hospitalized people with COVID need medical attention but also emotional and spiritual support. At this time, they are not allowed visitors, so my intention in sitting down and hearing the patient’s concerns and story has grown. I think the pandemic has also solidified my understanding that an ample part of nursing is educating. In this time of the unknown, some people become frustrated with others who are not abiding by social distancing and other regulations/suggestions. These people should not be reprimanded, but educated. 

 I am so incredibly thankful for my clinical instructor Staci Stoneberger who set aside her agenda to see that our clinical hours were complete, the nurses of 4 East at SRMH, and the rest of the nursing faculty for making adjustments to see us succeed. 

Hotline help

Professor Kate Clark shares Level 3 nursing student teaching responsibilities with colleague Professor Lisa Burkholder. As community clinical sites closed, Clark worked on finding other options for her students. She called the regional Virginia Department of Health, an agency with which EMU has had a 30-year relationship. Several EMU alumni work there.

I have a lot of students in the schools for community clinical hours, and when the schools closed down, that was not an option. So I called Debbie Bundy-Carpenter, the central district manager of Virginia Department of Health, and said, “Is there something we can do that would actually be helpful for your nurses?” And so she offered this [staffing the VDH regional hotline]. They have to have four staff in here at all times to answer phones. And so if we can fill up two of these chairs, then that’s two nurses who can be doing their other work, including contact investigations for positive cases. So this isn’t like a normal thing we would be doing. It’s a really amazing public health opportunity and it’s the way that students can actually do something helpful, not just for the nurses here but for the general public … And so we’re really happy to be taking advantage of that opportunity and glad that they trust us with it. 

Senior Emily Travis logged several hours at the VDH hotline, calling it “an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to help “people who are looking to do the right thing and look out for others as well.”

I was definitely eager to get some hours as my other clinical last week didn’t work out. I feel so lucky … Kate asked me if I wanted to take this full time this week and do every day, eight hours. And I said, absolutely …  I’ve learned so much. I’ll probably never have an opportunity we could do with something like this again during a health crisis …I also sense a lot of people wanting to do the right thing and look out for others as well. It is definitely an interesting time to be a nursing student.

Clinical waiver means more simulation training for faculty

Through the first and second week of March, Clark, Burkholder, Cash and other faculty members met several times a week as information changed. Their major concern, that students get in required clinical hours to graduate, was alleviated by the March 19 announcement from the Virginia Board of Nursing. The director waived certain regulations “with the goal of removing certain regulatory barriers to assist with education, testing, practice and workforce issues.”

The waiver also included an increase in the number of simulation hours to replace the normal clinical hours. While helpful, this required that EMU purchase access to the simulation program for Levels 1 and 2 students, who do not normally have it, and increase training for faculty, not all of whom were previously involved in simulation.

“Some of our faculty are trained to teach with simulators,” Cash said. “But this move means everyone, even our adjunct nursing faculty, who are full-time practicing professionals. They are all doing this additional training and giving of their own time and energy.”

‘We want to celebrate you’

On Friday, March 27, Clark and Burkholder held an evening meeting to update students as they resumed online coursework and prepared for final group presentations and the rigours of scenario-based oral exams. They also discussed changes to the NCLEX-RN exam,which has been modified in length and time to accommodate fewer test-takers at each time slot.

And they talked about the pinning ceremony that would no longer happen and the commencement celebration that was on hold.

“We talked to the accelerated program nurses and they brought it up that they want to share their pinning ceremony with you in August,” Burkholder told the students. “I know some of you won’t be around and you may not want to come back to Harrisonburg for that. But you have worked really hard and we want the opportunity to celebrate you.”

Whenever that celebration is held, it will be an opportunity to celebrate not only the persistence and dedication of the Class of 2020 but also how the EMU nursing faculty pulled together and supported them.

“We hear this all the time, that we’re a small, close-knit program,” Clark said, “and because of that, we’ve been able to be agile through this whole experience. We have amazing dedicated faculty and a dynamic leader who brought us all together to put together a game plan that works. And students who trusted us and were ready to go with what we proposed. Everyone pitched in. EMU nursing shines in moments like this.”

CCNE is one of two nationally recognized organizations that ensures the quality and integrity of nursing education programs to the highest professional standards.

The program met all four accreditation standards and was awarded the standard 5-year accreditation for newly accredited programs, according to CCNE. The standards relate to mission and governance, institutional commitment and resources, curriculum and teaching/learning practices, and assessment and achievement of program outcomes. 

“Accreditation indicates that EMU & GC have met CCNE’s high standards of academic quality and integrity,” said Dr. Ruth Stoltzfus, program co-director and director of the graduate nursing program at Goshen College. “Our DNP program reflects the shared values of both schools; stewardship of scarce healthcare resources, intercultural competency and servant leadership.”

All of Goshen and ���ѱ�’s current undergraduate and graduate nursing programs are accredited with CCNE.

“We’re pleased at this affirmation and will continue to work diligently to maintain and continuously improve our high academic standards,” said Dr. Melody Cash, program co-director and nursing department chair at EMU. “We are preparing the next generation of nurse leaders to serve and lead at the highest level of nursing practice.”

The joint DNP program began in January 2018. The first cohort will graduate in May 2020. Faculty from both schools teach the courses and students choose which college or university they want to confer their degree.

Students complete 10 online courses and at least one residency during the 24-month program. Eligible applicants must hold a Master of Science in Nursing degree from a CCNE- or NLNAC-accredited school with a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or higher.

To help meet the nation’s demand for nurses with advanced degrees, the that the DNP become the terminal degree for nurse practitioners, and the Institute of Medicine of doctoral-prepared nurses by 2020.

Published Nov. 7, 2019.

Within the nursing department, Hershberger chaired both the undergraduate (interim) and graduate programs, developed and updated the foundational “Sacred Covenant” model of nursing, led an enrollment expansion in 2004, and proposed two new degree programs — the accelerated second degree and the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree — that would position EMU as a top regional provider of nursing education.

Hershberger’s nursing department colleagues, nursing department chair Melody Cash and MSN program director Don Tyson, recognize her as both a mentor and a consummate professional, devoted to advocating for the most vulnerable, to seeking challenging and transformative experiences for EMU nursing students, and for elevating the departmental discourse around public health issues and challenges, among many other contributions.

Tyson’s office was located just across the hall from Hershberger’s for the last 20 years: “It has been a blessing and treat as we have laughed, cried, disagreed, affirmed each other, consoled, and problem solved in so many ways.”

Cash has appreciated her “wise discernment and support …a listening ear when I needed it …advice that came from years of experience and a place of compassion and caring.”

Hershberger’s impact on the entire university has been no less substantial. She moved through the academic ranks to full professor in 2002 and in addition to teaching and leadership responsibilities within the nursing department, was tapped for leadership roles as core curriculum coordinator, director of the Humanitarian Action Leadership program, and finally, her current role as director of the cross-cultural program.

Additionally, Hershberger contributed to several innovative initiatives, each of which have shaped the university’s core niche as a unique, Anabaptist-rooted liberal arts institution. She helped to launch the cross-cultural program, a core curricular requirement for all undergraduates; chaired the faculty committee to launch the graduate Conflict Transformation Program, now the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding; and provided leadership to several undergraduate general education revisions.

“Ann has made a lasting impact and we are deeply grateful for her deep commitment to EMU over nearly four decades,” said Undergraduate Dean Deirdre Longacher Smeltzer. “She has been a beloved professor and mentor to numerous students, both in the classroom and as leader of nine cross-cultural study semesters, and also to her many colleagues. Her wise leadership and her ability to gracefully balance completion of tasks with nurturing of relationships have afforded her numerous opportunities to serve off-campus as well, most notably including prominent roles with Mennonite Central Committee.”

To Mennonite Central Committee

It is to MCC that Hershberger will devote the next few years. She recently accepted the newly created position of interim associate director, and will help Executive Director J. Ron Byler lead the organization during MCC’s centennial activities  over the next 2-3 years.

Hershberger has served on MCC boards since 1996, including 10 years from 2009-19 as board chair of MCC US.  She served with her husband Jim as MCC representative in Nicaragua from 1985-90 and again in 1999-2000. Her first service with the organization was in 1983 in El Salvador.

The interim leadership role with MCC was “an unexpected, but clear calling,”  Hershberger said. “The interdenominational relationships I’ve built over the years through working with MCC will help me work within the organization as it adapts to important challenges. I am grateful that EMU has been my occupational home and the focus of my service to God and the church for many years, and I hope to continue the relationship after the interim position concludes.”

Appreciations

As a colleague, Hershberger contributed to ���ѱ�’s intellectual community with “perceptive comments and questions during meetings as well as over meals,” said Professor Marti Eads, of the EMU Language and Literature Department. “I treasure the challenging example she provides of living with integrity, and how she demonstrates measures of kindness, humility and cheerfulness when devoting herself to difficult tasks, such as a campus-wide curriculum revision process. I never had Ann as a teacher, but I imagine her to function as a teacher in the same way that she functions as a friend: encouraging others to do our very best because she believes we can and is waiting in excitement to watch us bloom.”

Sue Cockley, dean of the graduate school and seminary, shared similar sentiments about Hershberger’s versatile capabilities. “Ann is one of those very rare people who can care intensely about individual students in her class and, at the same time, think structurally about the well-being of the entire university. She is at once an inspirational idealist and a very practical realist.”  

Current and former students appreciated Hershberger’s role modeling and mentorship, pointing out that her words and actions has always shown genuine care, authenticity and intentionality.  

Maria Yoder, a senior biology major, travelled to Guatemala and Colombia with Hershberger as a sophomore. Yoder and Hershberger were co-investigators on a diabetes research project in Guatemala and travelled together to present at the fall 2018 American Public Health Association national conference.

“Without the experience, motivation, and guidance from Ann, I never would have thought I was capable of carrying out the research with Concern America. And that’s the beautiful thing about Ann — she is a natural teacher because she cares about the end product, not her own personal glory. She has hopes for this world that extend well beyond her lifetime and knows that teaching a younger generation is the best way to create a lasting impact.

“She has given me great counsel not only in regards to academics, but life in general,” said nursing student Asenie Daniel, who was also on the spring 2017 cross-cultural. “I am so thankful to have such an incredibly intuitive and receptive person in my life.”

Nursing student Esther Ghale recalls how Hershberger helped her through a challenging situation on that same cross-cultural, and continued her support back to campus. “Ann came and gave me a big bear hug, exactly what I needed at that time. She didn’t say anything, she didn’t ask questions, she just embraced us.”

Tessa Gerberich Hershberger ‘13 [no relation],  a nurse care coordinator for the women’s health and prenatal care program at Harrisonburg Community Health Center, still speaks with her former undergraduate advisor frequently. She says Hershberger has had a lasting influence on her own practice of nursing, from nursing clinicals at EMU to her postgraduate Serving And Learning Together (SALT) term in an HIV/AIDS clinic in Nigeria and her transition back into the U.S. health care system.

One of Ann Hershberger’s strengths, Tessa Hershberger said, is her strong commitment to interacting with grace and respect for all, whether patients, students, friends and colleagues. “More than doing for someone, nurses walk with and share information for people to cultivate their own strengths and independence, rather than creating dependency, and Ann exemplifies this, not just in her nursing, but in her teaching and mentoring roles as well. She holds our questions, thoughts and experiences with grace; asks good, thoughtful questions; and encourages us and reminds us of the strength within ourselves.”

Ann Hershberger will be recognized at a reception on campus in late April. Any appreciations offered in the comment box below will be passed along to her.

The audience included nursing alumni, some fresh from shifts at area hospitals, and other supporters and donors. Thus the hushed silence as they watched the very human drama around the hospital bed, in which patient, relatives and nurses all try to gather and filter information, make clinical decisions, process anxiety and build relationships.

The afternoon simulation, part of a continuing education program facilitated by Professors Melody Cash and Laura Yoder, showcased the lab’s new space and equipment. An early evening reception and dedication ceremony attended by approximately 60 alumni, donors and other supporters followed.

The afternoon simulation, part of a continuing education program for nurses, showcased the lab’s new space and equipment. An early evening reception and dedication ceremony attended by approximately 60 alumni, donors and other supporters followed.

More than $224,000 has been raised to support the lab expansion, which added more than 1,100 square feet of space. Several more beds and simulation equipment have enabled an increase in the annual number of nursing graduates from 48 to 64.

Alumni joining in the celebration represented the camaraderie and deep ties among the nursing department, from a 40-year veteran to several more recent grads. runs the New Moms Ask a Nurse support group at Sentara RMH Medical Center. and were just two of ���ѱ�’s many DAISY honorees working at Sentara RMH. Also present was Harold E. Huber, husband of Vida J. Huber ‘61, who chaired ���ѱ�’s nursing department from 1967-84 and was instrumental in the development and growth of the program. Emeritus professor Herb Swartz honored his late wife, Margaret, also a nurse, with his presence.

The ’s “potent and attractive prescription” results in highly sought after graduates, 100 percent of whom have jobs upon completion of the program, said President Susan Schultz Huxman. “Superb clinical preparation, an exemplary first-time pass rate on the nursing board exams, and compassionate care modeled by faculty … Yes, the best nurses are highly competent, know how to give and receive agape love, and understand the profound spiritual gifts of presence and grace.”

The lab is an important space for not only learners and teachers, but also those who will be cared for and comforted in the future, she added. “Today we dedicate this space for teaching the art and science of nursing, a living laboratory that connects head, heart and hands and that connects faculty and students in the holy work of patient care.”

The lab is named in honor of Lisa Haverstick, a 1991 alumnus who worked at Lancaster General Hospital and at Medical Associates of Lancaster in Pennsylvania until her death from pancreatitis in 2004.  The original lab space and equipment was funded through a combination of donations from her family and friends and a grant from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. The Lisa Haverstick Endowment Fund was also established to provide critical support for equipment replacement in the future.

Speakers included department chair , PhD, and undergraduate nursing program director , PhD, who are both registered nurses. Alumna Nancy W. Njoroge, a registered nurse who works at Western State Hospital in Staunton, Virginia, provided the keynote address.

The class of December 2019 includes Marisa Brizzolara, Chrissy Burchette, Cassandra Coleman, Silas Driver, Hannah Fournaris, Degache Fukiau, Brandon Higgins, Gena Laramy, Melissa Michaels, Jessica Miller, Emily Oyler, Felicia Plaugher, Travis Prince, Brittany Scott, Destiny Shifflett and Xue Zhao.

���ѱ�’s nursing program held its first white coat ceremony in September 2016 with a grant from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation. The foundation partnered with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing to offer these ceremonies at schools of nursing. EMU was one of 50 schools selected to receive the grant in 2016.

The white coat ceremony is a rite of passage for students entering clinical training in various healthcare fields. The tradition started at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1993 and has since spread worldwide.

Each ceremony includes the sharing of the Hippocratic Oath or a similarly worded pledge specific to each profession and program. At EMU, the pledge includes acknowledgement and understanding of ���ѱ�’s for nursing.

Before 1993, students only took this oath upon graduation. By taking the oath before clinical healthcare training begins, students — and the community that supports them — formally acknowledge their entry into the service of new professional responsibilities and ethical concerns.

The Nursing Pledge states:

As a Nurse dedicated to providing the highest quality care and services, I solemnly pledge that I will:

• Consider the welfare of humanity and relief of suffering my primary concerns;
• Act in a compassionate and trustworthy manner in all aspects of my care;
• Apply my knowledge, experience, and skills to the best of my ability to assure optimal outcomes for my patients;
• Exercise sound professional judgment while abiding by legal and ethical requirements;
• Practice the lifelong obligation to improve my professional knowledge and competence;

  

• Promote, advocate for, and strive to protect the health, safety, and rights of the patient; and
• Carry out a personal philosophy of nursing grounded in ���ѱ�’s Sacred Covenant model for nursing.  

With this pledge, I accept the duties and responsibilities that embody the nursing profession.  I make this promise voluntarily with the full realization of the responsibility with which I am entrusted by the public.

Speakers included department chair , PhD, and undergraduate nursing program director , PhD. Both are also registered nurses. Luella M.K. Glanzer ’06, a critical care registered nurse, provided the keynote address.

The class of 2019 includes Kassidy Arsenault, Marina Baker, Abby Byler, Kayla Campbell, Asenie Daniel, Danielle Davidson, Esther Ghale, Anna Gibbs, Rediet Girma, Amber Gonzalez, Joleah Hamilton, Lauren Harris, Nicole Kettle, Kaitlyn Klager, Haley Kuehle, Anne Liskey, Audrey Martin, Maria Martinez, Kayla Matthias, Mackenzie McBride, Emma Millar, DeEbra Morris, Rachel Morris, Haley Nauman, Sonya Peters, Kayla Sauder, Katlyn Shelton, Alyssa Shenk and Seth Suttles.

EMU’s nursing program held its first white coat ceremony in September 2016 with a grant from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation. The foundation partnered with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing to offer these ceremonies at schools of nursing. EMU was one of 50 schools selected to receive the grant in 2016.

The white coat ceremony is a rite of passage for students entering clinical training in various healthcare fields. The tradition started at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1993 and has since spread worldwide.

Each ceremony includes the sharing of the Hippocratic Oath or a similarly worded pledge specific to each profession and program: At EMU, the pledge includes acknowledgement and understanding of ���ѱ�’s model for nursing.

Before 1993, students only took this oath upon graduation. By taking the oath before clinical healthcare training begins, students — and the community that supports them — formally acknowledge their entry into the service of new professional responsibilities and ethical concerns.

With classes beginning in January 2018, the online Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program will educate nurse leaders in both clinical and systems roles.

“This program prepares professionals to be a good steward of healthcare resources and lead within a dynamic healthcare system,” said Dr. Ruth Stoltzfus, director of the graduate nursing program at Goshen College and co-director of the partnership. “The DNP provides an opportunity for a terminal nursing practice degree that emphasizes intercultural competency, servant leadership and innovative problem-solving. The curriculum provides tools for evidence-based practice and improvement in patient outcomes. The graduate will be well positioned to be on the cutting edge of healthcare delivery.”

The schools will begin seeking applications immediately. Students will complete 10 online courses and at least one residency during the 24-month program, and will earn their degree from either institution that they choose. Eligible applicants must hold a Master of Science in Nursing degree from a CCNE- or NLNAC-accredited school with a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or higher.

“The launch of our first doctoral program is a significant historical development for both EMU and Goshen College,” EMU Provost Fred Kniss said. “The new program aligns closely with each of our institutional missions and grows out of our special curricular strengths. It is one more sign of the academic quality and value of Mennonite higher education.”

This joint DNP will use a model similar to The (MBA) between Bluffton University, Canadian Mennonite University, ��ݮ���� and Goshen College. Faculty from both schools will teach the courses and students will choose which college or university they want to confer their degree.

“The Doctor of Nursing Practice builds on our outstanding nursing programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels and offers new opportunities for our faculty and students,” said Goshen College Interim President Ken Newbold. “Graduates of this program will be uniquely prepared to serve in a growing market and be leaders in the field.”

To help meet the nation’s demand for nurses with advanced degrees, the that the DNP become the terminal degree for nurse practitioners, and the Institute of Medicine of doctoral-prepared nurses by 2020.

“The high academic standards of both nursing programs provided a strong foundation on which to construct the DNP,” said Melody Cash, EMU Nursing Department Chair and co-director of the DNP. “We look forward to preparing the next generation of nurse leaders to serve and lead at the highest level of nursing practice.”

“There is already a model of success in both Goshen’s and ���ѱ�’s nursing graduate programs,” Stoltzfus said. “Both have strong reputations in our communities; students already know that the education they receive is exceptional, rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition of service, peacemaking and community. One of the distinctives is that we care about the individual students; they’re not seen as a number or a dollar sign. We intentionally keep the cohorts small because we want this to be the best educational experience we can possibly give.”

The nursing programs at both EMU and Goshen College are accredited through the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).

Campus Ministries

Undergraduate campus minister began with a recognition of , including Nathanael Ressler and Rebekah York, who are both concluding their service.

Theater

Professor introduced three student-actors have been invited, based on their performances in “Frog and Toad,” to compete for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship at the Region II Jan. 12-16, 2016 at West Chester University: Christian Parks and Myriam Aziz, with Ezrionna Prioleau as an alternate. Additionally, Caitlin Randazzo will compete in stage management and Derrick Turner in dramaturgy. Vogel directed the production, which ended performances Dec. 5.

Student Programs

Joel Castanon, products and marketing manager at the campus coffeehouse, , was recognized for his leadership and values by , director of student programs. After working as a barista for a semester, Castanon moved into management at Common Grounds, where he expanded the number of products available and marketing efforts associated with the new products. He also sought out local food sources, including Mount Crawford Creamery and Smiley’s Ice Cream. Sawatsky noted that Castanon promised at the beginning of the semester to “live in Common Grounds,” and he’s lived up to that promise.

Wael Gamtessa joined 1.5 years ago and has been vice president for the past semester. Sawatsky called Gamtessa “one of those rare people who possesses both intellectual capability as well as emotional sensitivity, which makes him able to handle extensive technical aspects of an event but also to work in the role of DJ, sensing the mood of the room and responding as needed.”

University Accord

Twenty-nine students earned Leadership Effectiveness and Development (LEAD)  certificates, recognizing their voluntary participation in a series of workshops on healthy conflict resolution and communication. Recognition was offered by , director of , and , assistant director.

These students include Diego Barahona, Heyrin Cha, Ana Cruz, Tae Dews, Wael Gamtessa, Rediet Germa, Teresa Garcia Bautista, Winifred Gray-Johnson, Jonae Guest, Victoria Gunawan, Hanna Heishman, Mario Hernandez, Fernanda Hernandez, Rachel Holderman, Sarah Jennings, Oksana Kittrell, Kat Lehman, Carissa Luginbill, Anna Messer, Valerie Meza-Cooper, Alyssa Moyer, Makora Nyagwegwe, Christian Parks, Louisa Quaynor, Richard Robinson, Alejandra Tejada, Delight Tigoe, Philip Watson and Brittany Williams.

Nursing

department chair Melody Cash recognized three students as exemplars of nursing students. Michael Sumner has lived out the “” of nursing, supporting and encouraging patients and peers at EMU. Raquel Enriquez embodies “servant leadership,” seeing possibilities and potential where others see barriers, Cash said, while showing an inspirational ability to successfully and smoothly handle responsibilities of schoolwork, her family and extended family. Olivia Mast, recognized for academic excellence, “shares her knowledge as a tutor and facilitates the learning and success of others.”

 Center for Justice and Peacebuilding

, practice coordinator at the , recognized five students for their voluntary work in furthering peacebuilding knowledge in the local community. Graduate students Ahmed Tarik, Myriam Aziz and Jordan Detwiler-Michelson joined together to share their experiences about Syria in local churches.

Additionally, graduate student Mikhala Lantz-Simmons and Mohammad Rasoulipur, who holds a graduate certificate and is interning with the , were recognized for their CJP grant-funded project, “Stories of War,” a video compilation of 18 members of the local community talking about their experiences with and reflections about war. [News articles on both of these projects are forthcoming.]

Music

major Sarah Sutter, was introduced by , music department chair. Griffing called Sutter “an exquisite musician … an expressive, concise, and sensitive singer who understands the demands and subtleties of great music and performs with insight and maturity.” Sutter  tutors music theory students, ushers for concerts on and off campus, and has led the organization of the for The Boys and Girls Club of Harrisonburg. [This event is at Common Grounds from 4:30-6:30 p.m., with performances by students of a variety of music, from Christmas carols, to bluegrass to classical].

Athletics

The following were recognized for their accomplishments during the fall and winter sports season by director of athletes . “They have been given God-given talent and ability, they understand how much work it is to hone those skills, and they recognize the value of their teammates in helping them achieve what they have.”

Cross country: and ;
Field hockey: ;
Men’s soccer: , and ;
Women’s soccer: and ;
Women’s volleyball: and ;
Men’s basketball: and ;
Women’s basketball: .

Academic Success Center

, director of the , recognized outgoing tutors Olivia Mast, Rebecca Powell and Ryan Swartzentruber for their “dependable, valuable and humble support.”

Student Government Association

Outgoing senators Robert Cook, Kate Weaver, Karina Guzman, Allan Oloo, Sara Shenk Moreno and Sarah Longenecker were recognized for their service in the Student Government Association  by Vice President of Student Life .

John Lowe, an EMU alumnus, will be keynote speaker for an annual development day for area nursing professionals.

Dr. Lowe, a 1981 graduate, will speak at 9 a.m. Thursday, Apr. 19, at the Pi Mu-at-Large-Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing that includes EMU and JMU faculty and students. The event is cosponsored by District IX of the Virginia Nurses Association.

The conference will be held 9 a.m.-3:15 p.m. in the Festival Conference and Student Center at JMU.

‘Wisdom of Diversity’

Lowe, an associate professor of nursing at the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Fla., will speak on the theme, "Embracing and Connecting to the Wisdom of Diversity." He is a Cherokee tribal member and one of only 13 Native American nurses in the United States with a doctoral degree.

Lowe has provided health care in such diverse areas as Tanzania, East Africa; People