March 30, 2018
UW nursing seniors in the Marcia Dale Aspire Scholars Program, (l-r) Paige Leonard,
Sara Pepper, Lauren Mochowski and Kelsey Fullerton, pose in the registration area
at the American Nurses Association Quality and Innovation Conference in Florida.
Four UW nursing seniors in the Marcia Dale Aspire Scholars Program--Kelsey Fullerton,
Paige Leonard, Lauren Mochowski and Sara Pepper--took advantage of Aspire scholarship
funding to participate in the American Nurses Association (ANA) Quality and Innovation
Conference in Florida this March.
What is the Summit? Why is it important for Aspire Scholars to attend?
Aspire Faculty Adviser Sherrie Rubio-Wallace says, "The Aspire program has been fortunate
to be able to send Aspire students to the ANA Quality and Innovation Conference for
the past few years. It is a wonderful opportunity for the students to learn about
cutting-edge research going on across the country and to have a chance to network
with nurses doing that research. Our students always return so excited about what
they saw and learned, ready to share their findings with other students."
Students share about the Summit's impact
Kelsey Fullerton
"What most inspired me at the conference was the experience of the nurses around me.
Seeing their passion and hearing about their research made me excited for my career.
Each nurse had their area of expertise, showing how vast the opportunities are in
nursing. There are so many different types of nursing, so if a job doesn't make me
feel as inspired as those nurses, I know it will be time for me to make a change.
The ability to network and learn was also a great opportunity."
Paige Leonard:
"I was most inspired by the number of nurses attending the conference from all over
the United States. It was so powerful to sit in a large conference room and look around
at everyone who came. Nursing is such a unique profession and yet such a tight community.
Attending the conference made be realize how excited I am to be a nurse!"
Lauren Mochowski:
"For me, the most inspiring take away from this conference was the opportunity to
network with such incredible nursing professionals. I had been feeling stressed about
the future prior to leaving, wondering where my path would lead, sometimes doubting
my ability to perform in such a respected field. The conference was God-sent: I left
feeling emboldened in my post-grad life and at peace with the journey that is in play.
It is humbling to sit in a room with thousands of nurses and hear about their incredible
achievements. To an even greater degree, it gives me confidence to know that each
of them has been in our shoes before--a student, hopeful and anxious about entering
as a professional nurse. I am excited to return to this semester's nursing capstone
course and finish out the semester strong with the knowledge I have gained from this
conference. I feel so thankful to the nursing school and the Aspire program for blessing
us with this invaluable experience!"
Sara Pepper:
"What inspired me most at the conference was all the networking opportunities. We
were able to meet very influential nurses from all across the country. It was incredible
to be able to converse with them about our future plans and have them be so supportive
of our dreams."
About the Aspire Program:
In collaboration with the Univerisity of Wyoming College of Health Sciences' "Aspire"
program, the Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing developed Nursing "Aspire" to encourage,
promote and nurture scholarship, leadership and professionalism in future nurses.
In 2013 Nursing Aspire was renamed the "Marcia Dale Aspire Scholars Program" in honor
of former school of nursing dean, Marcia Dale, who was dedicated to undergraduate
nursing education and was the "epitome of a leader".
