Board of Directors, 2020-2021
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Ruben Vigil, President
contactvnsa@gmail.com Hello there VNSA members! My name is Ruben Vigil, and I am so honored to be serving you, our Virginia nursing students as your 2020-2021 VNSA President. I am currently a Senior in the School of Nursing at Liberty University, located in Lynchburg, VA. It is my desire to see our state continue to facilitate the creation of new local chapters within our state where possible so that we can introduce more members to the benefits that being a VNSA member can bring, while also assisting existing local chapters however possible in order to generate more excitement and activity towards local and state goals. While COVID-19 is a major issue looking to affect our schools this year, I also hope that we can continue to bring people together through various means to help stay connected during these times. Please feel free to reach out at any time should you have any questions or concerns, as I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible! |
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Brittany Benson, 1st Vice President
contactvnsa@gmail.com My name is Brittany Benson and I am a Junior Nursing student at South University in Richmond, VA. I received my bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a specialization in counseling and human development at Liberty University back in 2012. I am married to an incredible, supportive husband with two amazing little girls, so life tends to stay busy, but I like it that way! I am looking forward to graduating with my BSN this December and am hoping to pursue a career in pediatrics or women’s health. I am excited to be a part of this great organization and to work as a team to create more opportunities for nursing students become the best nurses they were called to be. |
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Trisha Le, 2nd Vice President
contactvnsa@gmail.com Hi all! My name is Trisha Le and I am so honored and excited to serve as the 2020-2021 VNSA 2nd Vice President. I am currently a senior at Radford University's BSN program and am an aspiring pediatric nurse. I am also part of the Children's Miracle Network, the historian of Radford's Student Nurse Organization, and an active member of RUEMS. In addition to these organizations, I love being involved in other experiences including my past international travels to the Dominican Republic for a medical mission trip and shadowing nurses in Pavia, Italy for a summer. During this chapter of VNSA I really hope to inspire other students to become involved in extracurricular nursing activities to grow their skills and the profession, along with bringing in as many schools' student nurse organizations into the VNSA team. |
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Bailey Elkins, Secretary
contactvnsa@gmail.com Hello! My name is Bailey Elkins and I am the 2020-2021 VNSA Secretary. I am a Radford University Nursing Student and will be a rising senior in the fall. I love volunteering internationally with my nursing program in places like the Dominican Republic and in Asia. Within my university, I am also involved in my campus ministry, the Citizen Leader Program, and am also the secretary for my school's Student Nursing Organization (SNO). Some of my favorite things to do aside from school involve hiking, being with my family, and working out. I look forward to a great year with the rest of the VNSA Board and am excited to see what we are able to do! |
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Leilani Peterson, Treasurer
contactvnsa@gmail.com Hello Virginia nursing students! My name is Leilani Peterson, and I am currently in the accelerated Bachelor of Science Nursing program at South University in Richmond. I graduated from Arizona State University in 2017 with a Bachelors in Kinesiology and was a member of the Kinesiology Honor Society. I have always had the heart and passion for helping others and for providing service that surpasses the expectation of practice. I am thrilled to be serving as the VNSA Treasurer. My goal is to prepare and present budgets for new or ongoing work and to ensure we maintain a firm budget. I am looking forward to serving on the board of directors and can’t wait to see what this year brings us! |
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Camryn NeSmith, Public Relations Director
contactvnsa@gmail.com Hi everyone! My name is Camryn NeSmith and I am honored to be serving as the Public Relations Director for the VNSA. I am a rising junior in the BSN program at Liberty University with a minor in psychology. I am also a member of LU’s NSA chapter. I was inspired to pursue nursing because of many strong nurses that I have met throughout my life. In the future, I am interested in working as an Interventional Radiology RN. As VNSA’s Public Relations Director, I am looking forward to working with the Board of Directors to grow the VNSA. I plan to use social media to connect and engage with other nursing students and organizations in Virginia. I hope to connect more nursing students and encourage them during their time in nursing school. My goal is to further our mission statement which is to advance professional nursing practice through student mentorship, community service, and scholarship. I am beyond excited to engage with the nursing students of Virginia and I am looking forward to a great year with the VNSA! |
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Justin Yert, Nominations and Elections Chairperson
contactvnsa@gmail.com Hello Future Nurses! My name is Justin Yert, and I am honored and humbled to serve as your Nominations and Elections Chairperson for the 2020-21 term. My goal this upcoming year is to encourage scholarship and leadership throughout our incredible state, so be on the lookout for some unique informational videos. I am a husband to my stunning wife and father of 2 beautiful daughters and I am an avid Seattle Seahawks fan. I am Active Duty Navy attending Old Dominion University and hope to one day become a CRNA or an FNP, we will see which way the wind blows. I believe we as nurses are leaders in the health profession and what better way to start leading than now. I also hope to empower more students financially through the various scholarships that VNSA offers. If you have any questions on how the election process works or how you can be more involved in leadership or if you have any recommendations regarding scholarships, please do not hesitate to reach out; I would love to talk with you! |
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Logan Voegele, Breakthrough to Nursing Director
contactvnsa@gmail.com Hi, I’m Logan Voegele, I am a junior level nursing student. I am so excited to have the opportunity of being the “Breakthrough to Nursing Director” on the VNSA this year. Previously, I had not had the availability to be a part of something like an organization or that type of leadership position as I was homeschooled. But, as I’ve grown through my college experience, It’s given me the chance to develop more passions for the things I’m doing, and that’s why I decided to be a part of the VNSA, and to try to make real changes for the betterment of our nursing students and nursing as a whole. Whether that be through my role, or through the conference providing vital information to so many new people. I hope to be a successful member of the board this year, and I can’t wait to see our plans come to fruition. |
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Kristina Shurtleff, Torch Editor
contactvnsa@gmail.com Hello!! My name is Kristina Shurtleff. I am currently earning my BSN through Liberty University’s nursing program in Lynchburg, Virginia, and I will graduate in May of 2022. I am pursuing a degree in nursing to achieve my dream job while changing lives and helping others along the way. I aspire to be a nurse-midwife so that I can offer pregnant women a personalized and compassionate pregnancy/birth experience. I am so excited for the opportunity to serve as VNSA’s torch editor for the 2020-2021 school year. I am looking forward to this journey, and I am excited to see all of the skills I will learn in this role that I can take with me to my future career. |
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Nicole Escobar, Director at Large
contactvnsa@gmail.com Hello! My name is Nicole Escobar, and I am a junior nursing student with a minor in Family Studies at James Madison University, and I will graduate in December of 2021. I am honored to be serving as your 2020-2021 VNSA Director at Large and I look forward to connecting with all of you. I hope to foster and expand close connections with underrepresented universities and facilitate intercollegiate collaboration for future VNSA events. I believe VNSA is a great opportunity to network with other fellow, motivating nursing students, so it is an important goal for me to welcome and support all those who are interested! I am excited for the year to come! |
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Haley Bendell, Historian
contactvnsa@gmail.com Hey ya'll! I am very honored and excited to be your VNSA Historian for the 2020-2021 year. I am a Sophmore at Longwood University pursuing my Bachelor of Science in Nursing. At Longwood, I am the Director of Public Relations for our SNA Board. I am an active member of the Farmville Volunteer Fire Department as well as the Safety Officer for the club softball team. My goal as the Historian is to document each event with pictures so that we as an organization can look back and remember all of the great times that we spent together. I look forward to an amazing year with all of you! |
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Madeline Larimore, Pre-Nursing Representative
contactvnsa@gmail.com Hello! My name is Madeline Larimore and I am the Pre-Nursing Student Representative on the VNSA Board for my very first time. I attend Old Dominion University and I start my school's nursing program this coming Fall semester. This past year I served on the board of ODU's chapter of SNA as the Pre-Nursing Rep. Outside of school and being involved in SNA, I also work as a Resident Assistant on campus, and I enjoy working as a Nursing Care Partner/CNA at Sentara VB General Hospital on the Cardiac Unit. I also love to workout and go to the gym, listen to music and podcasts, as well as volunteer at my church's children's church and foster-care charities. I am working towards my long term goal of becoming a Traveling Neonatal Nurse, and eventually a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner. |
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Amanda Degen, Graduate Advisor
contactvnsa@gmail.com My name is Amanda Degen and I am the 2020-2021 Graduate Advisor. I recently graduated from South University's accelerated BSN program. I previously attended Christopher Newport and received a degree in Biology in 2015. I am working at VCU Medical Center on the Neonatal Unit. I plan to enroll in a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner program within the next few years. Last year, I served as President on the Board of Directors. I am excited to work with the incoming board over the next year and help them prepare for Convention 2021. |
Cianna Sullivan, Policy and Initiatives Director
contactvnsa@gmail.com
contactvnsa@gmail.com
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Sandra Annan, Faculty Advisor
annansl@jmu.edu or contactvnsa@gmail.com |