Frontier Nursing University (FNU) hosted its 7th annual Diversity Impact Conference on June 1-4, 2017. Last summer, four Couriers attended Diversity Impact prior to beginning the Courier Program. Due to their positive experience, Diversity Impact became mandatory for all future Couriers! Ambassadors from Breckinridge Capital Advisors, who sponsored the 2017 Courier Program, also attended the conference.
On the first evening of the weekend, Courier Coordinator Mandy Hancock and Associate Professor Dr. Diane John led an activity entitled “Patient/Provider Care: Do you see what I see?” Attendees were split up into groups of three. One person had to verbally describe a drawing to another, a second person drew and the third person observed the communication between them. Each person was able to experience all three positions and engage in a group discussion about their observations. After the arts-n-crafts portion, Dr. John discussed how to activity related to communication between patients and providers.
Many sessions were provided over the four day conference. Among the Courier favorites was “Intro to Appalachia: Perception vs. Reality” led by Shane Barton from University of Kentucky. “I really enjoyed the session with [Shane] on Appalachian culture. When trying to prepare to be a Courier, I really struggled finding comprehensive information on the area that was free of stereotypes and bias. He was so knowledgeable and passionate which made me passionate about this specific community,” recalled Claire Gasparovich.
Another session led by FNU Student Nurse-Midwife Speaker Essence Williams was also well received by Couriers. Calla Michalak who said the following about the session: “I really enjoyed the session about Guatemalan Midwives. It was really interesting to learn about the women working so hard to make that aspect of their culture work with modern medicine and even more interesting to think about how that could be applied at all levels of care all over the world.”
Nearly every 2017 Courier intends to go into some form of healthcare. Brittany Imel said Diversity Impact affected her intended career goals because “it solidified the fact that I want to get a PHD in public health after serving as a PA for a few years. I want to be a part of the movement to get health care to all people in our country. It shouldn’t matter who you are, where you come from, or what you believe; everyone deserves access to quality health care.” Ronnie Sloan, who desires to be an urban planner, said she “learned that it is more than just building a nice looking city. It is about joining forces with people in the community to discover the demands of the population and meet them with the plans to transform the city.”
The ambassadors from Breckinridge Capital Advisors, Katie Sacharuk and Sarah Turpin, sat down with Courier staff to reflect on their Diversity Impact experience, as well. “My initial opinion going in was thinking that in healthcare they really just provide care. Here we learned that Advanced Nurse Practitioners and Midwives, they really play a role of social worker and patient advocate. They don’t just provide care. They provide support, and I didn’t know that,” said Katie. Sarah reflected on how coming to this conference exposed her to new ideas she had never experienced living in the northeastern United States her whole life. “It brought to light both the different issues that are happening within the United States and then also the wide range of people that are getting involved in the healthcare field and how they’re using their experiences to then solve it.” Both ambassadors remarked that every person they spoke with, including faculty members, took time to check back in with them throughout the weekend. Katie said, “as an outsider coming in, I think you can really tell is that everyone is so different… but the one thing you can really tell is that they all had the same goal. It is to kind of unite [and] help their own community at home. So, whatever they’re learning, they want to bring it back, and they want to implement it.”
Brittany Imel is a sophomore Biology major with a minor in art history at Allegheny College in Meadville, PA. In her free time, she enjoys being outside and working out. Her dream job growing up was to be a pediatrician. Her favorite musical artist is Carrie Underwood. Her future goals include going to graduate school to become a physician assistant and working in a pediatrics office. Brittany says, “ I want to improve and grow on this experience by learning more about public health and services in a rural community. I also look forward to gaining a better understanding of how health care clinics operate and benefit people in their communities.”
Calla Michalak is originally from Memphis, TN and is preparing to enter her senior year at Michigan State University. She plans to graduate from the Honors College in 2018 with a degree in Psychology and minors in Bioethics, Humanities, and Society and Health Promotion. After finishing her undergraduate degree, she plans on entering a combined accelerated Bachelors/Masters program to become either a pediatric or women’s health nurse practitioner. When asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, she answered, “I always wanted a job that would allow me to just hang out with animals (especially dogs) and give them love. So, my dream job wasn’t really a job that existed.” She has participated in many research projects while at Michigan State. Some of her research was published in the first volume of the MSU Social Science Scholars Undergraduate Research.
Ronnie Sloan is a 20-year-old sophomore at Berea College in Berea, KY. She intends to major in Environmental Policy, and hopes to become an urban planner. Ronnie loves helping others and being a part of something bigger than herself. In her free time, she likes to travel and learn about unfamiliar cultures and situations. When asked what animal best represents her, she answered, “A wolf because I am very analytical, organized for the next move, smart, and quiet but quick on my feet.” She considers her proudest accomplishment to be when she trained to run a marathon. In 5 years, Ronnie hopes to be finishing graduate school for a career she is passionate about and saving for a home.
Alexandra “Zandy” Stovicek is a triplet fromWeehawken, New Jersey and a soon-to-be graduate of Wesleyan University in CT. Her major is in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and her passion is reproductive health equity. She is the leader of the Wesleyan Doula Project, a full-spectrum doula organization that trains volunteers to informationally, emotionally, and physically support patients through reproductive experiences. She also teaches yoga, occasionally acts and directs plays, and loves to spend time outdoors. When asked about the craziest thing she has ever done, she answered that she went ziplining in CA off the coast of Catalina Island. She is hoping to attend nurse-midwifery school in a year or two and can’t wait to meet the FNU community!
Edith Conyers traveled to Wendover in the 1960s to serve as a Courier in her early college days. No one in Edith’s family had experience in the medical professions, but her mother was intrigued by Frontier Nursing Service (FNS) so she encouraged Edith and her sister to look into the Courier Program.
Heidi Carter RN, SNM knew for years that she wanted to attend Frontier Nursing University (FNU) to become a 
Brie Belz is a freshman biology major in thepre-med track at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va. She is a dog lover, enjoys the outdoors, and feels she is at her best when she is helping others. She was born in North Carolina, but spent most of her life in Virginia. The book which has most influenced her is The Alchemist. If she could master one skill, it would be to whistle. The craziest thing she has ever done is jump off a cliff, and her proudest accomplishment was serving as the keynote speaker at the National Space Club’s Goddard Memorial Dinner in Washington, D.C. In five years, she hopes to be in medical school.
Claire Gasparovich is a third year nursing student at the College of Saint Mary in Omaha, Neb. She is passionate about being involved in her local church, as well as the inner-city missions established in her area. When she is not studying, she enjoys camping, traveling and other outdoor activities. The most influential book she has read is Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver. When asked about her expectations of the program, Claire responded, “I am very excited and blessed to be involved in the Courier Program and expect to develop a more applicable understanding of what it means to be active in service as a nurse in my community.” In five years, she hopes to be working and studying to be a nurse practitioner.
Matt Hodges is a sophomore at Wabash Collegein Crawfordsville, Ind., where he studies biochemistry and mathematics. He is an avid musician. Matt began playing percussion when he was seven and has since branched out into other instruments. His favorite book is The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky. If he could have dinner with anyone, it would be Kurt Vonnegut. His personal hero is his father, and his favorite band is The Shouting Matches. His proudest accomplishment is earning a full-ride scholarship. In five years, he sees himself in medical school.
Brigid Horan is a junior nursing major at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. She is originally from Salem, Conn. Brigid says her favorite nursing class has been Pediatric Nursing, and she hopes to work in the NICU or a pediatric setting in the future. Brigid found out about the Courier Program through her sister, Teresa, who was a Courier in 2013. Her proudest accomplishment is being accepted into the Navy Nurse Corps. The craziest thing she has ever done is go cliff diving. If she could have dinner with anyone, it would be Florence Nightingale. Her goal is to continue her nursing education to become a Nurse Practitioner or Nurse Anesthetist.
Frontier Nursing University (FNU) preceptor Maggie Hughes, CRNP from STATMED Family Medical Clinic of Ozark, Ala., was honored as FNU’s “Featured Preceptor” for the spring term. Maggie was nominated by former student Kathleen Harvey, FNP class 124, winter 2016 graduate.
She also serves as a preceptor for up to 14 nurse practitioner students each term and her preceptorships are seen as coveted positions. She is distinguished as a mentor by her level of personal commitment of time and energy to help others. Her students feel that she empowers them to grow, recognize their strengths, and talents, and motivates them to aspire to their highest level of achievement.
Carrie Belin is an experienced board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and a graduate of the Johns Hopkins DNP program, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Georgetown University School of Nursing, and Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She has also completed fellowships at Georgetown and the University of California Irvine.
Angie has been a full-scope midwife since 2009. She has experience in various birth settings including home, hospital, and birth centers. She is committed to integrating the midwifery model of care in the US. She completed her master’s degree in nurse-midwifery at Frontier Nursing University (FNU) and her Doctorate at Johns Hopkins University. She currently serves as the midwifery clinical faculty at FNU. Angie is motivated by the desire to improve the quality of healthcare and has led quality improvement projects on skin-to-skin implementation, labor induction, and improving transfer of care practices between hospital and community midwives. In 2017, she created a short film on skin-to-skin called 
Justin C. Daily, BSN, RN, has ten years of experience in nursing. At the start of his nursing career, Justin worked as a floor nurse on the oncology floor at St. Francis. He then spent two years as the Director of Nursing in a small rural Kansas hospital before returning to St. Francis and the oncology unit. He has been in his current position as the Chemo Nurse Educator for the past four years. He earned an Associate in Nurse from Hutchinson Community College and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Bethel College.
Brandy Jackson serves as the Director of Undergraduate Nursing Programs and Assistant Educator at Wichita State University and Co-Director of Access in Nursing. Brandy is a seasoned educator with over 15 years of experience. Before entering academia, Brandy served in Hospital-based leadership and Critical Care Staff nurse roles. Brandy is passionate about equity in nursing education with a focus on individuals with disabilities. Her current research interests include accommodations of nursing students with disabilities in clinical learning environments and breaking down barriers for historically unrepresented individuals to enter the nursing profession. Brandy is also actively engaged in Interprofessional Education development, creating IPE opportunities for faculty and students at Wichita State. Brandy is an active member of Wichita Women for Good and Soroptimist, with the goal to empower women and girls. Brandy is a TeamSTEPPS master trainer. She received the DASIY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Faculty in 2019 at Wichita State University. 
Dr. Sabrina Ali Jamal-Eddine is an Arab-disabled queer woman of color with a PhD in Nursing and an interdisciplinary certificate in Disability Ethics from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). Dr. Jamal-Eddine’s doctoral research explored spoken word poetry as a form of critical narrative pedagogy to educate nursing students about disability, ableism, and disability justice. Dr. Jamal-Eddine now serves as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in UIC’s Department of Disability and Human Development and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities (NOND). During her doctoral program, Sabrina served as a Summer Fellow at a residential National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) Summer Institute at Arizona State University (2023), a summer fellow at Andrew W. Mellon’s National Humanities Without Walls program at University of Michigan (2022), a Summer Research Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Othering & Belonging Institute (2021), and an Illinois Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities (LEND) trainee (2019-2020).
Vanessa Cameron works for Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nursing Education & Professional Development. She is also attending George Washington University and progressing towards a PhD in Nursing with an emphasis on ableism in nursing. After becoming disabled in April 2021, Vanessa’s worldview and perspective changed, and a recognition of the ableism present within healthcare and within the culture of nursing was apparent. She has been working since that time to provide educational foundations for nurses about disability and ableism, provide support for fellow disabled nursing colleagues, and advocate for the disabled community within healthcare settings to reduce disparities.
Dr. Lucinda Canty is a certified nurse-midwife, Associate Professor of Nursing, and Director of the Seedworks Health Equity in Nursing Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Columbia University, a master’s degree from Yale University, specializing in nurse-midwifery, and a PhD from the University of Connecticut. Dr. Canty has provided reproductive health care for over 29 years. Her research interests include the prevention of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, reducing racial and ethnic health disparities in reproductive health, promoting diversity in nursing, and eliminating racism in nursing and midwifery.
Dr. Lisa Meeks is a distinguished scholar and leader whose unwavering commitment to inclusivity and excellence has significantly influenced the landscape of health professions education and accessibility. She is the founder and executive director of the DocsWithDisabilities Initiative and holds appointments as an Associate Professor in the Departments of Learning Health Sciences and Family Medicine at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Nikia Grayson, DNP, MSN, MPH, MA, CNM, FNP-C, FACNM (she/her) is a trailblazing force in reproductive justice, blending her expertise as a public health activist, anthropologist, and family nurse-midwife to champion the rights and health of underserved communities. Graduating with distinction from Howard University, Nikia holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and a master’s degree in public health. Her academic journey also led her to the University of Memphis, where she earned a master’s in medical anthropology, and the University of Tennessee, where she achieved both a master’s in nursing and a doctorate in nursing practice. Complementing her extensive education, she completed a post-master’s certificate in midwifery at Frontier Nursing University.
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).