Samana Upadhyaya
At the heart of Frontier Nursing University (FNU) is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community that are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality health care to underserved and rural populations.
Working in higher education and being able to serve a large community has always been a motivator for FNU employee Samana Upadhyaya.
Samana began her higher education career at Michigan Technological University as a Graduate Assistant as she was getting her Master’s degree in Computer Engineering. While there, she taught lab courses to undergraduate students.
“I loved interacting with so many students and faculty,” Samana said. “I got hands-on experience working with (these individuals) to solve complex problems.”
Now, Samana has worked at Frontier Nursing University for the past seven years and is currently the Process and Application Developer. She is involved in many projects and committees. Some recent projects she has worked on include clinical applications, workflows, system integrations and upgrades and much more.
Because of Samana’s dedication to her work and the patience, kindness, understanding, and professionalism she shows each day, she was nominated to be one of Frontier’s recent Circle of Caring winners.
One nomination wrote:
“ Samana is very helpful and professional in every call I have with her. I see this not only with myself but with others as well. I feel that she is the perfect nominee for the Circle of Caring award.”
Circle of Caring winners demonstrate FNU’s Culture of Caring, which is built on five main elements: Professionalism, Inclusivity, Respect, Positive Communication and Mutual Support. All of which are evident in Upadhyaya’s actions.
“I strongly believe one can achieve any personal or professional goal only if you initiate the positiveness from within you,” Samana said. “I always try to be mindful of being respectful to others, put ideas forward through positive communication, being transparent to what I deliver, supporting ideas, handling situations with patience, and treating others with equality.”
Samana, who grew up in Kathmandu, Nepal, came to the United States to receive her master’s degree and is proud to be a woman in IT. She lives in the US with her husband and two children. She enjoys traveling and learning about new cultures, hiking, gardening and spending time with her family.
In response to being a Circle of Caring winner, Upadhyaya says, “To be recognized with the Circle of Caring Award is incredibly gratifying. This motivates me to work hard and serve the Frontier Nursing University community. I want to say a big “Thank You” to the Frontier Nursing University community for recognizing me with this precious award.”
Thank you, Samana, for being an excellent example of FNU’s Culture of Caring! We are proud to have you as a member of our community.
Dr. Tia Brown McNair is the Vice President in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and Executive Director for the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, DC. She oversees both funded projects and AAC&U’s continuing programs on equity, inclusive excellence, high-impact practices, and student success. McNair directs AAC&U’s Summer Institutes on High-Impact Practices and Student Success, and TRHT Campus Centers and serves as the project director for several AAC&U initiatives, including the development of a TRHT-focused campus climate toolkit. She is the lead author of From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Higher Education (January 2020) and Becoming a Student-Ready College: A New Culture of Leadership for Student Success (July 2016 and August 2022 Second edition).