“One of the main things I was looking for in a college was hands-on experience. As a nursing major it is vitally important to get into the clinical setting and apply the concepts our professors teach us in class. When a family friend who was a recent Hartwick nursing graduate told me she graduated with hundreds of clinical hours I was sold. When it comes down to it, grades don’t matter nearly as much as the experiences we have.”

“One of the best aspects of my job is the opportunity to know students as individuals and as scholars. We work together in class, in the lab, and in my office and I start to identify things in them. As they progress in their studies and encounter new fields, they might discover one pathway is not as engaging for them as they had thought. I can show them other pathways, but to do that, I have to take the time to get to know them.”

“I’m not here to deliver a lecture; it’s an interaction. I ask a question, they give answers, and that tells me something about the next question. I expect my students to make mistakes. When one does poorly on a test, we talk and develop strategies for changing how he or she approaches the work. Using successes or failures in the moment to inform your successes in the future – that’s what it’s all about.”

“Sometimes what you learn in nursing is not what you expected. Each patient is more than a diagnosis. We learn about illness, but we take care of human beings. Nurses teach, but also learn from their patients and are transformed by these precious nurse-patient interactions. I feel a responsibility to people. I need to know the person I’m taking care of and what they value; that’s the bottom line.”