On Tuesday, September 10th, BYU’s Kimball Tower Gardens were packed with BYU students in the nursing and pre-nursing programs in attendance at the annual Student Nurses Association (SNA) opening social. They gathered to participate in fun activities, network with other students, and prepare for the new academic year in the College of Nursing.
The SNA is a national pre-professional organization that aims to support and empower nursing students from universities coast to coast. BYU’s chapter was started for precisely this reason, to give nursing students chances to help each on their paths to becoming more capable nurses and disciples of Christ.
The annual opening social aims to unite nursing students and give them a glimpse at the clubs and opportunities available to them. Students played cooperative yard games, enjoyed snacks, and participated in a service project by writing letters to military veterans. Fourth-semester student and BYU SNA president Jenna Mundell was thrilled to see students learning about the myriad opportunities that they can take advantage of in the College of Nursing.
She later remarked that that “a highlight for me was just being able to see so many people getting involved with all of the clubs in the College of Nursing. Being connected as nursing students is so important to share experiences, so I loved being able to have an event for people to meet and connect!”
Students at this year’s social also had the unique opportunity to meet visiting nursing students from Ishikawa, Japan! These students spent a week in the United States under the guidance of Dr. Hiromi Tobe, a nursing professor at a Japanese university and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. At the opening social, these visitors helped BYU students write their names in Japanese characters, played cultural games with them, and even dressed them in traditional kimonos! Lauren Thorpe, a third-semester nursing student who attended the event, loved getting to know the guests and said it helped her recognize the universal application of her studies. She said, “sometimes we can feel isolated in our struggles and successes as nurses, but it was wonderful to see how much we had in common with each other, even when we live on opposite sides of the world.”
Celia Taylor, treasurer of the BYU SNA chapter and fourth-year nursing student, explained that the association goes much deeper than occasionally gathering for a few yard games. According to her, the organization is in many ways the lifeblood of the College of Nursing. ”It’s for everyone,” she said. Regardless of nationality, time in the program, or anything else, all students are invited to fellowship one another and be a part of the student nursing community. In describing its value, Celia referenced the words found in the Book of Mormon to “bear one another’s burdens” (see Mosiah 18:8). She reflected on a time when she struggled with a difficult pharmacology exam and the only people who were there to lift her up were her friends from SNA. She calls that support system the true value of the program.
“To be able to have a place where people understand what you're going through, and you can just take that weight off, I think that's really important,” said Celia.
BYU’s SNA chapter has hit the ground running after a successful opening social, with many more opportunities for students to come throughout the academic school year. To learn more about upcoming SNA events, click here.