STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: COLLEGE OF NURSING ZACH DICKENSON

The decision to attend East Tennessee State University came down to one overarching realization for Knoxville native Zach Dickenson: ETSU was just right.

“When I first toured ETSU, it was snowing, and it was absolutely beautiful, and I remember my family was with me,” said Dickenson, a December 2022 nursing graduate. “It was just us on the tour, and it just felt like home. I could just see myself going to school here for the next four years.

“It wasn’t too big; it wasn’t small. There was so much to do on campus.”

As a student, Dickenson quickly discovered that a university the size of ETSU offered many opportunities to get involved but was not so large that he got lost in a crowd.

He was elected to the College of Nursing’s Student Advisory Council and served as its president. Through this organization, Dickenson took student feedback to the faculty to shape and impact the curriculum. The group also participates in community outreach; Dickenson helped the council plan a fundraiser to purchase toys for patients at Niswonger Children’s Hospital.

Dickenson made the most of the academic offerings at ETSU. He was accepted into the Honors-in-Discipline Program in the Honors College, which afforded him research experience as an undergraduate. His thesis aimed to improve diabetic health literacy.

“My faculty mentors really made an impact on me,” Dickenson said. “One thing that really stands out to me is the clinical experience that each faculty member has, and those years of experience really reflect on the curriculum and make the College of Nursing stand out from other programs.”

The location of ETSU was another big draw for Dickenson.

“I chose ETSU because it was far enough away that I felt like I gained independence, but close enough to where if I wanted to return home, it wouldn’t be an issue,” he said.

Last summer, Dickenson remained in Johnson City and lived on campus to pursue a nursing internship through the VALOR (Veterans Affairs Learning Opportunities Residency) Program at the James H. Quillen VA Medical Center at Mountain Home.

“Through this program, you get 400 hours of precepted experience, which is amazing,” Dickenson said. “You’re able to solidify all the coursework that you’ve learned in class in person, and you actually get to see what you’ve been learning. And it really does make a difference.”

As a nursing student, Dickenson worked in the ICU at the VA, which was a particularly meaningful assignment for him because he was visiting an ICU when he decided to become a nurse.

“The spark for me was when my dad was admitted to the ICU, and he was there for about two weeks,” Dickenson said. “Just seeing that compassionate, patient-centered care and the hard work that those nurses put into him and the trust he put back into them – it was something spectacular. And seeing him get better mentally and physically throughout his stay and the role his nurses played throughout his recovery, I knew from that point on that was what I wanted to do.

“Hopefully I can make that same impact that those nurses made on my dad,” he said.

Dickenson hopes to work a few years before pursuing an advanced nursing degree to become a nurse practitioner.