Nursing Honors Program

Jessica Sanchez
Faculty Mentor: Aleatha Rossler

Favorite memories from the Nursing Honors Program
One of my favorite memories from being in the Honors program was getting to travel abroad. At the beginning of 2024, I traveled with Honors to Italy! It was right before my first semester of nursing school as well as my 20th birthday.

In almost 20 years on this Earth, I had never been outside of the country. I had such a fun time seeing the different towns and tasting the amazing food. I’m so grateful to the Honors program for giving me the opportunity to have that experience. 

Life lesson learned from mentor
Throughout nursing school, I was always pressuring myself to exceed expectations and meet all of the unrealistic timelines I set for myself with my capstone. What I learned from my mentor was to give myself more grace. I was putting in the work, but sometimes things don’t work out the way you planned, and that's okay. 

Describe your Capstone

The Effects of Hispanic-Focused Dementia Education on Nursing Students’ Awareness, Knowledge, and Confidence

Brief Description: Hispanic Americans face a higher risk of developing dementia and experience greater delays in diagnosis, yet current nursing curricula lacks formal education on this issue.

This study evaluated a Hispanic-focused dementia education intervention on nursing students, finding significant improvements in their awareness, knowledge, and confidence in caring for this patient population. The findings support integration of this intervention into the nursing curriculum to promote culturally competent care and healthy equity. 

Quote on leadership
“If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader.” - Dolly Parton 

Leadership lesson learned
I think one of the most important leadership lessons I’ve learned is to embrace vulnerability. I believe that it is important to be open about your own weaknesses and challenges in order to gain trust with your team and encourage them to be vulnerable too. 

Stephy Chirayath
Faculty Mentor: Jincy Immanuel, PhD

Favorite memories from the Nursing Honors Program
My favorite memory from my honors experience was attending a conference! It was so fun being in an academically stimulating environment surrounded by other supportive students. I was able to make a lot of new friends and learn about all of the exciting research happening in other fields. The entire experience from presenting myself to being in a new place to listening to amazing speakers is so memorable to me.

Life lesson learned from mentor
Take baby steps! Break things down and tackle them. It is really easy to get intimidated when working on a project or studying, and it can lead to further procrastination and demotivation. Splitting tasks into small chunks and working on things little by little can help you achieve your goals.

This can apply to anything in life, not just school. Stop, take a breath, and focus on the little things you can do every day. All of the baby steps will help progess you to eventually achieve what you want!

Describe your Capstone

The Association Between Cord Blood Leptin Levels and Offspring Outcomes in Overweight and Obese Mothers

My capstone project explored the relationship between cord blood leptin levels, neonatal outcomes, and early childhood adiposity by conducting a secondary analysis of the Vitamin D and Lifestyle Intervention for gestational diabetes mellitus prevention (DALI) trial. DALI was a European trial conducted between 2012 and 2014 that evaluated whether healthy eating, physical activity, a combination of both, or vitamin D supplementation would reduce gestational weight gain and the risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in women who were overweight or obese (BMI >29 kg/m^)(Jelsma et al., 2013). We found that relative cord hyperleptinemia is associated with less weight gain at birth and in early childhood, which implies that leptin sensitivity is still retained even after being exposed to elevated levels of leptin in utero.

Quote on leadership
“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality." - Warren Bennis

Leadership lesson learned
I like this quote because it sums up what I have learned about being a leader. You can always say you want to do something and have all sorts of ideas, but it means nothing if you choose not to take action to accomplish it.

All of the leaders I look up to and know are people who have stepped out of their comfort zones and have gone above and beyond to attain their dreams.

Evelyn Pugh
Faculty Mentor: Niki Fogg, PhD

Favorite memories from the Nursing Honors Program
Some of my favorite memories took place outside the classroom where the program’s sense of community truly came to life. Traveling to NCUR 2025 was a major highlight: exploring Pittsburgh with fellow honors students, reconnecting with Dr. Wilson and peers from the Dallas campus, and presenting my research in a national forum were all incredibly fulfilling.

Supporting my classmates as they shared their own work made the experience even more meaningful. It felt like a true celebration of our collective effort and growth.

Another memorable experience was reading Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown as a group. The conversations it sparked about empathy, vulnerability, and emotional literacy resonated deeply with me and reinforced the human-centered values that lie at the core of nursing.

Life lesson learned from mentor
One of the most valuable life lessons I’ve learned from Dr. Fogg is that it’s okay to ask questions. In fact, it’s essential. From the very beginning of my journey, I was encouraged to stay engaged, stay curious, and never shy away from asking questions. Asking questions is not a sign of weakness or ignorance. It's a sign of engagement and a genuine desire to learn.

My mentors also taught me to seek out opportunities that genuinely interest me, even if they push me out of my comfort zone. It’s easy to stay in a space where you feel confident, but growth happens when you challenge yourself. Saying yes to things I may not feel 100% ready for has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my journey. Whether it’s taking on a new project, accepting a leadership role, or stepping into an unfamiliar situation, I’ve learned that growth is often found in the moments where you’re uncertain. 

Describe your Capstone

Interpreter-Mediated Communication in a Clinical Setting: A Simulation Education Study

Brief Description: This study explored how nursing students can better understand the role of interpreters through hands-on simulation activities. The goal was to help students apply what they learned in a realistic clinical setting.

The project was inspired by my own experience as a Spanish-language interpreter student. In a live simulation, I played both an interpreter and a simulated patient. This showed me how important teamwork is when dealing with language barriers, and it emphasized the need to better prepare nursing students for these situations.

Together with Dr. Fogg, we created a distance simulation where students practiced working with interpreters during the discharge of a non-English-speaking patient with chronic health issues. Nursing students were evaluated on how well they identified the need for an interpreter, arranged interpretation services, educated the patient, and worked with interpreting students. 

Results showed that the simulation significantly improved students' confidence and skills in working with interpreters and NELP patients. This suggests that such training could be a valuable addition to nursing education and improve patient care.

Quote on leadership
“By asking ourselves how we want to be remembered, we plant seeds for living our lives as if we matter. By living each day as if we matter, we offer up our own unique legacy. By offering up our own unique legacy, we make the world we inhabit a better place than we found it.” - A Leader’s Legacy by Kouzes and Posner

Leadership lesson learned
This quote has stayed with me throughout nursing school, reminding me that leadership isn’t about titles or recognition — it’s about showing up with intention, serving others, and leaving things better than we found them. True leadership starts with how we treat others in everyday moments: listening, supporting, and standing beside them.

I’ve learned that being a leader doesn’t mean being the loudest or most visible person in the room. It means listening deeply, acting with integrity, and consistently showing up with empathy and purpose. 

Vincent Preciado
Faculty Mentor: Jennifer Wilson, DNP

Favorite memories from the Nursing Honors Program
My favorite memory from my honors experience was, hands down, flying for the first time in my life to present my research at the 2025 AAMN Annual Conference in St. Louis. I have never been on a plane before, and for my first time to be due to my academic achievements is reassuring that I am on the right path with my education.

Life lesson learned from mentor
Do not be afraid to do hard things. Saying “yes” is 70% of the battle.

Describe your Capstone
What Order do People Rank Stroke Treatment Centers?

Brief Description: In the United States, there are four different levels of stroke centers, from most to least advanced. These are Comprehensive Stroke Centers, Thrombectomy-capable Stroke Centers, Primary Stroke Centers, and Acute Stroke Ready Hospitals" (Boggs et al. 2022). Currently, there is no data in the literature on whether or not adults understand these rankings.

The purpose of my capstone was to collect data to address this literature gap because confusion about the best stroke treatment may cause devastating delays if the event arises. I conducted a survey study that explored how accurately adults ranked certified stroke centers compared to their actual ranking.

The data collected and analyzed will assist in establishing simplified naming for stroke center-level designation that adults may better understand.

Leadership lesson learned
After having an amazing time at the 2024 American Association for Men in Nursing Annual Conference in St. Louis, I was inspired to run for a leadership position at my local TWU AAMN chapter. I then successfully ran and was elected as the president-elect for the Fall-Spring 2025-2024 semesters. Even before starting my term as AAMN president, I was able to organize a job fair event at my old high school, where we talked with young teenagers about the field of nursing as a stable career path with many specialties to enter into. 

Madison Donahoe
Faculty Mentor: Jennifer Wilson, DNP

Favorite memories from the Nursing Honors Program
Spending time with my colleagues in Pittsburgh and celebrating ourselves and our achievements.

Life lesson learned from mentor

• Find joy in lifting others up
• Learn to be comfortable with the uncomfortable (get out of your comfort zone)
• You never have to wait for a “specific position” to inspire change. You can do it whenever you find something that needs improvement

Describe your Capstone

Nursing home staff’s perceptions of residents’ oral histories on patient-centered care

I created an engagement tool to increase meaningful engagement between staff and residents by conducting oral histories on the residents and providing staff with the information through individual posters. After allowing the staff to use these posters for a month, qualitative interviews were conducted with 12 staff members.

The transcripts were analyzed and three themes emerged. It was concluded that the oral history intervention encouraged patient-centered care and increased meaningful engagement between staff and residents.

Quote on leadership
“People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.” - John C. Maxwell

Leadership lesson learned
I completed my project while I was still employed at the nursing home that the study was conducted in. This project showed me that you can make a change no matter what position you hold.

When you step out and show that you care about something and you want to make it better, this makes the people around you believe in this cause too.