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���ϲ�����’s Department of Nursing is launching a chapter of the National Student Nursing Association (NSNA).

“It’s good to think about in a networking sense,” said Jeanmarie Koonts, assistant professor of nursing. “Because a nurse could have multiple different career changes and work in different areas, different hospitals and different settings.”

Koonts, who serves as the faculty advisor for NSNA, Club Nursing and the student affairs committee, brought a cohort of nursing students to the North Carolina Student Nurses Association and to the National Nursing Student Association in spring of 2025. There, they began to explore the idea of what the steps may look like to bring a chapter of NSNA onto campus.

“This has been an initiative of ours for the last year,” Koonts explained. “With the arrival of our third department chair, Dr. Cathy Quay, it was one of her goals to really get this up and running.”

In 2021, ���ϲ����� launched both a traditional four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing program and a 16-month accelerated program for those who have already completed a bachelor’s degree.

Koonts chose Tori Whetstone ’26 to spearhead NSNA.

“I wanted to tap a student leader that I felt was exceptional in their leadership abilities and their commitment to nursing,” Koonts said. “Since she is a leadership fellow, I felt this really spoke to her two loves and passions of leadership and nursing. It was just a fluid process from there.”

Whetstone and other nursing students shared the knowledge they learned at the North Carolina Student Nurses Association convention through informational lunches in the spring of 2025. With around 30 students being receptive to the idea of a chapter, Whetstone then spent the summer drafting paperwork to register NSNA as a recognized student organization.

Funding for NSNA was given through the Hilaire Pickett Leadership grant. The money has assisted in acquiring materials, spaces and getting the ball rolling for the program.

So far, the group has already held elections, finalized bylaws, and began their first meetings. They are promoting the organization by going into ���ϲ����� 1010 classes, ensuring incoming first-year students are aware of the professional practice and opportunities it brings.

“I really think we’ve got the momentum for it to grow and to keep it going,” Koonts said. “With National Nurses Week each year, they’ve been voted the most trusted profession for 25 years in a row. I really see NSNA being able to highlight nurse’s week, and the profession as a whole.”

In terms of personal growth, Whetstone says leading NSNA will not only enhance her own understanding and skillset of leadership and nursing, but her fellow students as well.

“It serves as a collective voice for nursing students across the United States,” Whetstone explained. “Their resources help undergraduate students thrive when they take the NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination) and continue in their professional careers. Nurses are so much more than just healthcare providers. They are advocates, therapists, leaders, policymakers, volunteers and so much more.”