Let’s GO! The trip traces its origins in large part to Becky McDermaid’s wanderlust and desire to learn. She wanted an opportunity to study internationally and took it upon herself to explore the possibility. “Your nursing career and your nursing education is what you make of it, and I saw this as a perfect opportunity to enhance that,” she said. When McDermaid approached her professors, she found them quite receptive. “One of the benefits of going to SVSU is doors are always open here.” Several other students also expressed interest and soon committed to a semester of meeting every other week to prepare for the experience. The lessons learned were not left behind. The four students who studied the Yellow Ribbon Campaign are implementing a tailored version on campus this fall; they received $5,850 from SVSU’s Student Research and Creativity Institute to support their efforts. “(Australia) takes a very studentshelping-students approach,” Crocker said, noting that U.S. programs have been more adult-focused. “We’d like to use both at SVSU.”
n Front row (from left): Sally Decker, Melissa Milton, Melody Seppo, Michele Ebersole, Courtney Sierko, Ashley Jackson, Beth Britt. Top row (from left): Darryn Crocker, Ashlie Fisk, Shelley Dukelow, Shelby Dunklee, Becky McDermaid, Jennifer Bender, Beth Roe, Torrey Freese, Heather Schmidt, Amber Simon.
“It was probably the best decision I’ve ever made in my life to go on that trip.”
32 - Foundation NOTES
Learn more: www.svsu.edu/foundation
— Becky McDermaid, Clio