JMU honors college and Nursing collaborate to grow JMU Nursing Honors Scholars

Above: Professor Herron oversees the honors project of Elle del Gallo (’19).

“One of our goals in the School of Nursing is to encourage faculty and student collaboration in research and scholarship.”

– Betsy Herron

Since 1990, the School of Nursing has collaborated with honors students in the completion of their honors projects, with 36 nursing students having completed capstone projects and graduated with honors. Students enter the nursing program in their junior year when the capstone process begins. Nursing faculty have volunteered their time to work with students in developing, implementing and presenting various projects related to healthcare and the nursing profession. Historically, many pre-nursing students have opted not to continue with honors once they have been accepted into the nursing major.

Professor Erika Sawin, nursing honors liaison from 2011 to 2017, began collaborating with the Honors College to streamline the process for nursing majors to ease their transition into the program and support their continuation with honors to graduation. In 2018, the Honors Program became a multidisciplinary minor for JMU students. Professor Betsy Herron assumed the role of nursing honors liaison that year. She continues to collaborate with the Honors College to provide guidance for nursing students in the program. Additionally, she has worked to grow the numbers of honors students completing the minor.

In the fall of 2020, there will be 17 active honors students in the School of Nursing. Several nursing honors students have published their capstone projects in the JMU undergraduate research journal. One recent honors graduate, Elle del Gallo (‘19 ), in collaboration with her capstone advisor Dr. Christina Lam, has submitted her final project for publication in a peer-reviewed national nursing journal.

“One of our goals in the School of Nursing is to encourage faculty and student collaboration in research and scholarship. Working with honors students is a commitment our faculty take on voluntarily, so growing the program requires participation from the entire school,” Herron said. “Each new nursing honors student brings a new opportunity for the advancement of nursing science.”