BECAUSE OF YOU, it has been possible to send Student Nursing Association (SNA) officers to the national SNA meeting, inspiring students further into nursing leadership. UNEXPECTED RESULTS... Last year Sarah Boyer (middle), SNA president, went to the conference with fellow officers Brooke Lensegrav, Taryn Bales-Montgomery and Ashton Peterson (all pictured to the left). Boyer says, “I am so thankful for the opportunity the school of nursing and Health Sciences Dean Joe Steiner provided." As a direct result of attending the conference, Boyer was inspired to organize a DKMS Bone Marrow Donor Registration drive this fall in Laramie, registering 75 students to become potential donors. HOW DID ATTENDING THE CONFERENCE INFLUENCE SUCH AN ACTION? Boyer shares: "A motivational speaker [at the conference] talked about his personal experience with cancer and how lucky he was to be matched with a donor. The four of us talked about how important being on the registry is, so Taryn, Brooke, Ashton, and I registered to become bone marrow donors." Boyer continues, "Without attending this conference, I would never have thought to organize a drive to potentially match individuals in need." SO HOW DID THE SCHOOL HELP SNA ATTEND THE CONFERENCE? "With the help of the school and Health Sciences Dean Joseph Steiner, we were able to reduce some of the financial burden," says Boyer. "Dean Steiner funded our hotel in Dallas, which made it possible for us to take an extra board member. The funding from the School of Nursing also helped us pay for some of our flights, which also allowed us to take a fourth member." We started this post with THANKS, and now END it with THANKS! Boyer concludes, "All we learned at the conference we were able to bring back to share with our fellow students. Attending the National SNA conference in Dallas, Texas is something I will forever remember and be thankful for."

BECAUSE OF YOU, the Marcia Dale Aspire Scholars Program develops leaders in nursing to advance the profession. Each year we graduate up to four Aspire scholars, launching them from UW prepared to be leaders in nursing. LEARNING ABOUT LEADERSHIP: Marcia Dale Aspire Scholars have the opportunity to meet and learn from many great nurse leaders. The highlight of their time in the Aspire program is attending the American Nurses Association Quality Conference in their senior year. Madison Vigil, one of our inaugural Aspire graduates who now works at Denver Children's Hospital, said of the conference, "We were able to attend seminars presented by nurses from around the country about improving quality care. The research that was done was incredible. It was inspiring to see nurses who recognized issues and did research to try to improve these issues. It motivated me to be actively involved in my patients’ care and invested in their well-being. Bedside nurses can be very influential leaders. They see issues first hand and have the ability to advocate for their patients to improve patient care. This conference inspired me to act as a leader in every position that I hold." THANK YOU for making these opportunities possible, for investing in these future nursing leaders. PICTURED: 2018 ASPIRE SCHOLARS GRADUATES with Bill Dale (Husband of the late Dean Marcia Dale, after whom the program was named.) From left (bottom) to right (top): Kelsey Wilbers, Lauren Mochowski, Bill Dale, Paige Leonard, and Sara Pepper.

BECAUSE OF YOU, we are empowered to encourage alumni who go above and beyond in their careers, bringing them to campus to inspire students and other alumni to follow in their steps. ONE WAY WE ENCOURAGE ALUMNI is through the presentation of our annual Distinguished Alumni Award during the fall UW Homecoming activities. This year's recipient of the award is Johnna French, BSN, CLC ('11). Her nominators recommended her for the award based on her work in and passion for Public Health Nursing and her outstanding involvement and contributions to the community. DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI PLATFORM: French was thrilled to be able to further promote Public Health Nursing from the platform of the Distinguished Alumna title. Part of the Homecoming festivities included a luncheon with nursing student leaders in Student Nurses Association and the Marcia Dale Aspire Scholars Program. French had the opportunity to discuss her Public Health Nursing career and answer questions from the assembled students. She also sat on the Health Sciences Interdisciplinary Panel for an engaging discussion, where alumni here for Homecoming could participate and benefit from the wisdom of the panel members. DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI VIDEO INTERVIEWS: Lessons in nursing leadership! Be looking for the addition of French's video to the compilation of previous UW Nursing Distinguished Alumni videos, a resource meant to give students concrete examples of nursing leadership in action: https://www.uwyo.edu/nursing/alumni/verbal-history.html

We appreciate you so much. Thank you for supporting the nursing program, nursing students, and alumni!