“Nursing is a difficult major so there isn't much extra time. But I wasn't willing to stop at academics, so I make the time to serve my school and community.”
Camille Guidry, the College of Nursing’s 2007 Undergraduate Humanitarian of the Year, in her own words:
“Nurses are lucky, because we are the first to react when the patient is in need. In pediatrics, each interaction is a chance to make a child’s day a little better. It is so rewarding to see a sick child play and laugh, forgetting she’s ill.
“Nursing is a difficult major so there isn’t much extra time. But I wasn’t willing to stop at academics, so I make the time to serve my school and community. Keeping busy makes me work harder, and volunteering is so rewarding that I want to do more. Textbooks can’t teach you everything, and the experiences I have had are just as important in shaping me as a nurse.
“As vice-president of my class, I communicate between the administration and my classmates. I started a website, where I keep an updated calendar of events, class assignments, and study guides. I plan social events, and I am now busy planning our pinning ceremony, the conclusion to our program. I also serve on the Dean’s Leadership Council. Once a month the student leaders meet with the Dean and other advisors for discussion, where we can voice concern about classes or policies.
“The most rewarding organization I’ve been involved with is the Student Alumni Leadership Council. I have met some amazing people who have made FSU what it is today. I will introduce myself to an alumnus and then realize that there is a building named after her!
“Sometimes it is so easy to get caught up in school that I put my faith on the back burner. Going to Spirit Nite at St. Thomas More Catholic Church for praise, worship, and a faith-based lesson is my reminder of something else important to me, my faith. I have met some of my best friends through the Catholic Student Union (CSU). I participated with other CSU students on a trip to Philadelphia during the 2004 spring break. We mentored children who had been taken from their homes and who badly needed to be shown that someone cared. They were so excited to get attention that they would cling to me. The experience affirmed my vocation as a pediatric nurse.
“I feel I have played a large role in starting new traditions that will continue on. This makes me as proud as receiving my BSN degree!”