Conway Scholars meet benefactor, hear from NCDHHS secretary, receive nursing pins
Philanthropist William 鈥淏ill鈥� Conway meets with members of the inaugural class of Conway Scholars at 甜瓜视频app.
By Bill Studenc
The nearly 75 members of the inaugural class of Conway Scholars in Western Carolina University鈥檚 School of Nursing met their benefactor and heard a message of gratitude for obstacles overcome and encouragement for challenges ahead from North Carolina鈥檚 highest ranked health care official Thursday, Dec. 12, on the eve of commencement.
Kody Kinsley, North Carolina secretary of health and human services, addresses soon-to-be graduates during a WCU School of Nursing pinning ceremony.
Kody Kinsley, North Carolina鈥檚 outgoing secretary of health and human services, delivered the keynote address at a special ceremony at which 73 soon-to-be nursing graduates received pins signifying their transition into the nursing profession.
Students in the WCU master鈥檚 degree and doctoral programs in nursing also participated in a hooding ceremony at the event, which was attended by N.C. Sen. Gale Adcock (D-Wake), who is a nurse practitioner.
Philanthropist William Conway, whose Bedford Falls Foundation-DAF made a $2.1 million gift to WCU providing scholarships to undergraduate nursing students and enabling the hiring of additional faculty to guide them in their clinical experiences, was on hand to shake the hand of every student receiving a pin.
Conway鈥檚 wife, fellow philanthropist Joanne Conway, died in January, prompting an additional $100,000 memorial gift from her husband on top of their initial $2 million contribution from Bedford Falls, a donor-advised fund that supports a wide range of charitable and educational causes in the eastern United States. Those gifts established the Joanne and William Conway Nursing Scholarship program at WCU, with recipients known as Conway Scholars.
That donation marks the single largest gift in the history of WCU鈥檚 College of Health and Human Sciences and the School of Nursing, dramatically increasing the amount of scholarship support for prelicensure nursing students, said Lori Anderson, the college鈥檚 dean.
鈥淭he gift is transformative, profoundly affects our students and reduces financial barriers so that they can focus and complete their studies and clinical training. Careers in nursing have an impact on the individual lives of our students and their families and the economic and social prosperity of our communities, region and the state of North Carolina,鈥� Anderson said.
鈥淚 am forever grateful to you and your late wife, Joanne, for making dreams a reality for our students,鈥� she said to Conway, presenting him with a plaque of appreciation.
During his keynote address, Kinsley praised the nursing students for their role in helping Western North Carolina recover from the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, which tore across the mountain region in late September.
鈥淵our educational journey had a wrench thrown into it by Hurricane Helene, which many students may have seen as just an interruption or a delay or other personal impact on their lives. But I know that many of you ran into the wake of the storm. You worked in clinics and alongside paramedics. You passed out aid. You supported your neighbors, your friends and your family, and you did whatever it took to help,鈥� he said.
It is often in the midst of crisis that individuals reveal who they really are, Kinsley said.
鈥淲hile today you will officially become nurses, I believe it was in the moments of that storm when you heard your calling and became who you are. To be a nurse is to see the whole thing. It鈥檚 to see the whole picture of what鈥檚 really going on. It鈥檚 to understand what drives action. It鈥檚 to understand that what drives health is what happens outside of the clinic,鈥� he said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about holding the hand of a patient or a loved one in their darkest moments. It鈥檚 about understanding that the weight of 40 trillion gallons of water is as much as the weight of three tears shed after a horrible diagnosis. It鈥檚 about working as a team to see how everyone can come together to solve the problem. And, yes, it鈥檚 about no matter what, running into the storm,鈥� Kinsley said.
As the nursing students become graduates and go out into their careers, they will find themselves dealing with a new storm in the form of the many challenges facing health care in the U.S., including rising costs, lower life expectancy and less access, he said. Despite those challenges, Kinsley said he remains optimistic about the future of health care in North Carolina, in large part because of the graduates he was addressing.
鈥淵ou know this situation, yet you said 鈥榶es.鈥� You said 鈥榶es鈥� to running into the storm. You said 鈥榶es鈥� to continuing to persevere in your education no matter how complicated you understood health care to be. So don鈥檛 be discouraged. You see the whole picture. You understand what it means to be on a team. You know what it takes to build trust in that moment where the patient finally can share what is really going on,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 encourage you to take that approach to our systems. Don鈥檛 fall victim to blaming the person just outside of your understanding. Don鈥檛 fall victim to thinking that it鈥檚 an evil CEO or it鈥檚 a really bad this or a really bad whatever,鈥� Kinsley said. 鈥淯nderstand that we are all part of a broader system, and understand that nurses have the secret key to the fix, which is working as part of a team and bringing people together to drive the change.鈥�
After all, nurses represent the largest cadre of workers in the health care profession, at more than 5 million strong, he said, offering his congratulations to the students about to graduate.
The Bedford Falls gift to WCU鈥檚 School of Nursing came as part of WCU鈥檚 鈥淔ill the Western Sky鈥� comprehensive fundraising campaign, an effort to raise support for the university鈥檚 academic, student engagement and athletics programs. For more information or to make a contribution to the campaign, visit , call 828-227-7124 or email advancement@wcu.edu.
