Valedictorian shares academic, personal struggles
Nursing student Tanya Taylor
models her summa cum laud medal
at the Golden Key meeting on May 1.
By Audrey McCrone
Tanya Taylor, the valedictorian of the first commencement ceremony for 2008, said that nursing chose her.
"I love nursing," said Taylor. "It truly is my passion, and I could never see myself doing anything else but caring for people when they need care the most."
"Many people, including my father have told me that I should be a nurse since I was a child," Taylor said. "After several years of ignoring the prompts, I finally got the point that this is what God wanted me to do with my life, and the rest just fell into place."
The university awarded only three nursing degrees from 2006 to 2007, according to a report by Institutional Research. For the second year in a row, a valedictorian has been selected from the nursing program.
Taylor juggles full-time classes with school, office positions in student organizations, work at the VA Medical Center in X and volunteer work through York United Methodist Church in Medina, in addition to being a wife and a mother.
"I would often bring her dinner or a snack when she would pull marathon days at her computer writing papers," said her husband of five years, Kelly, who owns a small business. He said he also tries to take care of their toddler so that his wife does not have to worry about her.
"My goal as valedictorian is to be a tangible example to people who may be thinking about returning to school," said Taylor, "because you can be a wife, a mom, a student, an employee, and still be active in campus life and professional organizations.
"I have served as past president of our Student Nurse Association and am currently the liaison to the state and national level," said Taylor, who is also the co-president of the Nurses Christian Fellowship.
"I will say I have never had a nursing student so involved in activities outside of the School," said Michele L. Kwiatkowski, a clinical assistant professor in the School of Nursing. "She never complained that there was too much to do, too many papers to write, too many nursing care plans to write. She simply did what was assigned of her, and always above the requirements."
Taylor said the NCF is "a resource to be able to discuss nursing concerns with fellow nurses and to be able to support each other through prayer. I think that my faith has encouraged my leadership in the organizations I am part of. My faith keeps me grounded in service to others, so I find that many of my ideas for organizations revolve around giving back to the community," said Taylor.
"I also serve as the treasurer of the Ohio Student Nurses Association and was selected to serve as a committee member by the board of directors for the National Student Nurse Association," she said. "We have worked hard to be an active campus group and have participated in campus health days, community service projects and participated at the annual conventions."
She said she chose to join the Golden Key because she wanted to connect with the broader campus community. "As a nursing student, I felt that all of my campus activities revolved around nursing," she said.
At York United Methodist Church in Medina, Taylor also teaches a confirmation class and advises a youth group. "My faith not only encourages me to work as hard as I do but I also find that it give me strength when I feel overwhelmed by responsibility," she said.
"It has not been easy," her husband said about Taylor's hectic work and school schedule. "It has been a great sacrifice for our family, but we all support her, and in the end this will be what is best for our family, so we feel that it is something that we needed to do together."
The first person Taylor called, after President Schwartz's office called her to tell her she was selected as valedictorian for her graduating class, was her husband. "He has been my everything throughout my education. He is the person behind every success I have, and I give him all of the credit for all of my accomplishments."
Taylor does not know who nominated her to be valedictorian."Only that I received a letter stating that I was eligible," she said. She submitted a current resume with letters of recommendation, and copies of awards in support of her nomination.
"I, as well as the School of Nursing faculty, are proud that Tanya has been selected," said Dr. Kwiatkowski.
"I think because school has been such a challenge, while working and having a family, that it is an emotional time for me," Taylor said. Her immediate goal is "to survive school and graduate," then she wants to catch up on some sleep and go on a "much needed vacation with my husband and daughter."
Her husband said that they are honestly ready for her to graduate "so that we can reclaim some of her time for us. Tanya is always so dedicated to everything and it is going to be very nice to be a part of her success, but it has been a long journey.
"Through it all," he added, "she manages to stay a part of home and Becca - Tanya takes her each week to toddler gymnastics and Water Babies, so we are all excited for her, but also excited to have some additional family time."
Taylor expects to continue working for the VA. "I love it there and it is an honor to take care of our veterans."
About being chosen as valedictorian, she said, "It has already got thinking about getting my masters."About 2,500 students are eligible to graduate this spring, said Barbara E. Smith, coordinator of special events in the Office of the President. The two ceremonies (morning and afternoon) will have 800 to 900 graduating students in attendance, she estimated.
Undergraduates in the Colleges of Business Administration, Education and Human Services and Urban Affairs who will graduate on the morning of May 10 will turn their tassels to the right when Taylor instructs them to do so.
Reach this Stater reporter at a.mccrone@csuohio.edu
