4 minute read
Class Notes
SHARE YOUR NEWS! We want to know where you are and what you are doing! Submit updates at ucfalumni.com/nursing or email nursing@ucfalumni.com.
’80s
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Shari (Ellis) Kazmerchak ’89BSN is an assistant professor of nursing at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science.
’90s
INSIGHTS FROM KNIGHT NURSE ENTREPRENEURS
Jason Duprat ’09BSN interviewed fellow UCF nursing alumnus Kenneth Dion ’91BSN on his
Healthcare Entrepreneur Academy Podcast in April. Dion shared tips for entrepreneurs and insights from his role as assistant dean for
business innovation and strategic relationships at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. Listen to Episode 181 on jasonduprat.com
’00s
Kate Dorminy ’06BSN ’10MSN became an instructor at the UCF College of Nursing. She will continue to coordinate undergraduate clinical experiences for the UCF Orlando campus.
Laura Gonzalez ’08PhD
was elected presidentelect of the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL) and is now vice president of clinical learning resource at Sentinel U® . Additionally, she was part of a nursing research team that studied remote learning during the pandemic. Their work, “Interactive Video Simulation for Remote Healthcare Learning,” was published in Frontiers in Surgery.
Quibulah “Quib” Graham ’03BSN
was appointed to corporate director of diversity and minority business development at Orlando Health. Thomas “Tom” Weichart ’04MSN, an army veteran, former White House presidential executive nurse, and current pastor and FNP for World Clinic and AdventHealth, returned to UCF to deliver the Summer 2021 commencement address.
Fameisha Williams ’06BSN ’11MSN ’15Certificate ’18DNP ’20Certificate
was featured in Orlando Voyager magazine.
NEW FELLOWS
Valerie Danesh ’03, ’06BSN, ’06MS,
’15PhD and Cathleen Wheatley ’17DNP were inducted to the 2021 Class of Fellows of the prestigious American Academy of Nursing.
FAAN
Congratulations to
Kimberly Bogers
’18BSN ’20MSN and
Sara (Ponte) Piscitello ’13BSN
who were honored by UCF Alumni among the 30 Under 30 awardees in 2021.
’10s
Erica Basora ’10BSN, clinical development specialist at Northside Hospital in Atlanta, was a speaker at the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses Expo in Orlando in August.
Patricia M. Delgado ’08 ’10BSN
’15MSN ’18DNP, a dermatology nurse practitioner, has started a mentorship and coaching business to help future nurse practitioners in the field.
Nicole Hamm ’15BSN earned her master’s degree in nursing from South University.
Maj. Telisha Johnson ’18MSN, who serves in the DC National Guard, was honored by the Secretaries of the U.S. Air Force and Army for providing CPR to a civilian during the George Floyd riots in Washington, D.C. “That moment meant so much to my unit, to the guard, and to the family of the woman we saved.” Anthony King ’14BSN ’17MSN moved to Colorado in February and is currently a clinical practice specialist in the pediatric ICU at Children’s Hospital Colorado. He also serves on the system’s Nurse Credentialing Review Board and as system-wide clinical lead for pressure injuries, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, and the codes and rapid response teams.
Eliany Torrez Pon ’18BSN was named 2021 Preceptor of the Year by Nemours Children’s Hospital.
Carrie L. Lewis ’15MSN became manager of clinical documentation integrity at AdventHealth Central Florida.
Patricia (Trish) Price ’16DNP was promoted to vice president and chief nursing officer at AdventHealth Ocala.
Ariel Van Winkle ’19BSN, a flight nurse in the California Air National Guard and CICU travel nurse, passed the CCRN exam to become a certified critical care nurse earlier this year and was recently accepted into the USF Nurse Anesthesia DNP program for Summer 2022.
’20s
Destiny Alvarez ’20BSN landed her “dream job” after graduation working in the neonatal intensive care unit at Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital.
Chloe Frye ’21BSN was interviewed by the NPR affiliate in Orlando in June about the pandemic and nursing shortage. Hear her interview on wmfe.org.
Valorie MacKenna ’20PhD, director of simulation-based education at UConn School of Nursing, had her first, firstauthored publication of research. “Selfdebriefing in healthcare simulation: An integrative literature review” was published in Nursing Education Today in July.
Mallory Mauney ’20MSN, a healthcare simulation program graduate, had a poster presentation discussing simulation and neuroscience education at the Virtual AANN Stroke Conference in August.
EXCELLENCE AWARDS
Three alumni were honored by the Theta Epsilon Chapter of Sigma, the international nursing honor society, with excellence in leadership awards: Joyce DeGennaro ’03 ’09BSN ’13MSN (posthumously), Kate Dorminy ’06BSN ’10MSN, and Trish Celano ’10MSN.
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AT-A-GLANCE
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