Kent State University at Ashtabula’s associate degree Nursing program inducts three new students to the Gamma Sigma Chapter of Alpha Delta Nu Honor Society

The associate degree Nursing program at Kent State University at Ashtabula has inducted three new members to the Gamma Sigma chapter of the Alpha Delta Nu honor society earlier this month. There was a ceremony welcoming the students at the campus’ Blue and Gold Room. The inducted nursing students were Melissa Williamson, Taylor Lamb-Kutz, and Katie Cumberledge, all second-year students. 

The Alpha Delta Nu Honor Society was started with the goal of promoting academic excellence and scholarship for the nursing profession. Alpha Delta Nu encourages students to pursue advanced degrees in nursing and to view continuing education as a lifelong personal goal and professional responsibility.

At the ceremony, the three inductees were presented with an organization pin, a peach honor cord, and an honor certificate. The pin and honor cord will be worn by the students at their graduation ceremonies.

The students were responsible for creating a project that was to benefit the nursing program in a significant way, and were expected to maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 and earn at least a B in each of their nursing classes.

The project the students did was focused on the wellness and mental health of first-semester nursing students. The project looked at the support of novice nursing students in their transition into the rigors and expectations of the nursing program. They developed mental health toolboxes and discussed potential professional pathways, career focus, and intervention development in a series of conversations with new students. They also distributed those mental health toolboxes to new nursing students.

Tamra Courey, DNP, RN, CNE and Lora Morris-Chiacchiero, DNP, MSN, RN, associate professors of nursing and faculty co-advisors was quoted in an article on Kent State’s website about working with the students, saying, “It was a privilege to be able to collaborate with the students with their project, which made a meaningful contribution to the first semester nursing students. Each student conveyed a commitment to excellence and were genuinely concerned about influencing the health, wellness, and academic success of their peers by sharing their journey and strategies from their perspective.”

More information about Kent State University at Ashtabula can be found at the school’s website.