Nancy Roy, An Inspirational Nursing Student

Nancy Roy, a recent nursing baccalaureate graduate from the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, UMass Boston, has enhanced her knowledge of cancer care and nursing research during her senior year by working with nurse researcher Susan Bauer-Wu, PhD, RN, at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DCFI). Nancy participated on a research team on a quantitative research study, a master study of symptom management in cancer patients receiving bone marrow transplant. Her mentor was Martha Healey, FNP. She was also part of a qualitative research study, “Expressive Writing in Advanced Breast Cancer Patients.” Her mentor for the expressive writing project was nurse scientist Marsha Fonteyn.

Through this partnership, Nancy made public presentations, coauthored an abstract for a cancer conference, and coauthored a manuscript for peer-reviewed publication.

Nancy received the McNair Fellowship for the 2006 – 2007 period, the first and only nursing student so far to have been accorded this honor. She also received an award for her fellowship speech. Through the McNair Fellowship, her tuition was waived, and she received $2,800 toward her college education and travel expenses for conferences related to her study. She was well prepared and supported during her study here in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences.

Nancy is a shining example of the opportunities available to nursing students at UMass Boston through the McNair Fellowship and our close affiliation and partnership with DCFI.

Kristen Reske and Her Magnificent Voice

What a thrill to see one of our own, Kristen Reske, a second-semester senior in the nursing program, singing the national anthem at the university graduation. Her magnificent voice inspired others to sing along. How did we know she could sing so well? In addition to being a stellar student, Kristen is an athlete. As a member of the girls' basketball team, she sang the national anthem at every home game for the past four years. As was reported in the Boston Sunday Globe on April 1, 2007, Kristen “ended her college basketball career as UMB’s all-time leading 3-point shooter (149) and tied for the school lead in games played (102) and her free-throw percentage (0.754) is the second most accurate in school history.” It is rare that you find a nursing student able to balance a rigorous academic schedule with a demanding sports schedule, but as the Globe said, Kristen did not want to give up basketball and felt that “When I was stressed out with school, I had basketball.” In addition, Kristen was honored at the university's Student Leadership Banquet in April. She will be finishing up one more semester, graduating in December, and hopes to work as a pediatric nurse. Congratulations, Kristen.We are very proud of you

Deszarae Busi, An Exemplary EHS Student

Deszarae Busi graduated from the Department of Exercise and Health Sciences with a BS in exercise physiology. In addition to obtaining her degree summa cum laude with a GPA of 3.9, she received several awards this past year, including a student leadership award, an award for academic excellence, and the Dean's Award. She is a member of the Golden Key International Honor Society and was also recently named to Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities. During the spring 2007 semester, Deszarae served as an EHS representative and helped plan the CNHS convocation ceremony alongside the senior nursing class officers.

Says Deszarae: “The affordable education offered by UMass is incredible, and the classes offered by EHS are so hands-on and informative! The EHS faculty is all extremely supportive of and invested in their students' education, which I really appreciate. I feel fully prepared entering the workforce and graduate school.” She currently works at Spaulding Cambridge Outpatient Center as a physical therapist's aide and a medical service representative, and she plans to attend graduate school to receive her doctorate in physical therapy next year. To current and incoming EHS students Deszarae says, “We are a fast-growing and up-and-coming department with a lot of opportunities to be had, so get involved and take advantage of all the wonderful things that both UMass and the EHS Department have to offer.”