A SEASON OF CHANGE LEADS TO A LIFETIME OF SUCCESS UNIVERSITY OF JAMESTOWN’S NURSING CLASS OF 1969
The Nursing class of 1969 remember their years at University of Jamestown as a season of change. There were four different directors in four years. Accreditations were shifting, and the program was moving from a five-year requirement to four. When this class initially came to UJ, about 30 students were in their program. In two short years, only 13 remained; the rest had transferred. Joyce Kost Heitmann
And yet, those that stayed don’t look on this season negatively; rather, they see it as a very formative experience—crediting their tight-knit class, personal connections, passionate professors, and flexible scheduling as reasons they stayed at UJ. “It was really a pioneering adventure while we were there, because our nursing program was in transition, and we as individuals were in transition with our own interests and how we pursued them,” explained Dr. Susan Holli Homan Neidlinger (’69). “It laid a really good foundation.”
Ann Piltingsrud Dau
Qualities of flexibility and resilience continue to unite the class, who have kept in touch and recently reunited on campus to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their graduation. As their biographical document states, it “seems like the group that stuck with our studies at JC learned how to be flexible and flow with changes, which seems to have infiltrated into our lives in serving our communities and health needs after leaving our initial studies.” Many have gone on to get advanced degrees, become educators, and travel the world.
A GROUP OPEN TO NEW IDEAS “I think that Jamestown at that particular time had a strong nursing program, and they gave us enough background so we could expand and feel comfortable,” said Gail Cameron Saxowsky (’69). “I think as a group of people we were really open to ideas and eager to try new things out.” Susan, who was a member of the National Student Nursing Association (NSNA), is the perfect example of a student with this eagerness. “The foundation we had [at University of Jamestown] was very rich,” she said. “We wanted to get out there in the world. We were not yes people; we were questioning people.” Towards the end of her freshman year, Susan applied for a travel sponsorship and with that, went to San Francisco to attend an NSNA conference. “There were over 4,000 nurses there from all over the country,” she explained. “And speakers from around the world. It opened my eyes to what there was in the profession.” When the opportunity arose, five of her classmates joined her on a trip to Dallas to support her as she ran for a position on the national board. “All of us going together and getting to see the bigger picture of what was going on in nursing—we saw that there was work to be done. There was more out there, and we needed to be involved,” Susan continued. “It all made for quite an amazing journey at Jamestown College.”
Bonnie Kay Moxness
Dennis Dean Rieker
Esther Marie Snader
Fredricka Leigh Chase
Gail Meredith Cameron
Sharon Erickson Unruh
