More than 100 celebrate at fall all-alumni REUNION
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Stepping foot in the College of Nursing building for the fall all-alumni REUNION, class of ’68 alum Roberta Allred found herself face-to-face with classmates she hadn’t seen in 50 years.
“I’m so excited, I can hardly stand it,” said Allred, who now lives in Wilmington, North Carolina, as she snapped photos with long-lost classmates.
From as near as the West Loop to as far as California, more than 100 alumni and friends came together at the fall all-alumni reunion on Oct. 13, a day to recognize and celebrate alumni.
In addition to giving alumni a chance to reconnect, the day-long program featured an alumni nurse leaders panel, a celebration of alumni award winners, and a continuing education presentation by 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient Paul Kuehnert, DNP ’12, MS ’91, RN, FAAN, associate vice president-program for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
“It just was wonderful to connect with people and to see the future of nursing,” said Margaret Beaman, BSN ’78, MS ’82, PhD ’87, who lives in southern California, adding that she enjoyed hearing about the accomplishments of alumni, the latest progress in research and meeting current students. “The University of Illinois is still doing a stellar job.”
The day kicked off with a panel discussion on cost-effective, high-quality care with three alumni nurse leaders: Michael Patterson, MS ’05, RN, FACHE, president and CEO of Mississippi Valley Health, Angelique Richard, PhD ’99, RN, chief nursing executive at Rush Health, and Mary Shehan, BSN ’81, RN, DNP, NEA-BC.
After the panel discussion, alumni gathered for a celebratory lunch in honor of Kuehnert and Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award recipients Julie Creamer, MS ’91, RN, president of Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Judith Hicks, MS ’75, and Mary Maryland, PhD ’94, FAAN.
Kuehnert delivered a CE presentation on “Social determinants: Going beyond acute needs” where he challenged nurses to serve as catalysts for change in the healthcare system and society by leveraging two important assets: proximity to patients and a focus on unmet needs.
“We’re inherently motivated to think about how to address needs, even when we can’t immediately solve them,” he said.
The reunion brought a strong showing from the class of ’68, who were celebrating the 50th anniversary of graduating from the UIC College of Nursing. Sandy Masterson was one of about 15 alumni representing that class and has led an effort to stay in touch with her class over the years by organizing get-togethers and sending out newsletters.
She said the reunion was an opportunity to reconnect with classmates, especially those who no longer live in Illinois, as they told “war stories” about college life and caught up on current happenings.
“It always brings back memories,” said Masterson, who now lives in the Denver area. “We enjoyed it thoroughly.”
Save the date for REUNION 2019: Oct. 12. For information on how you can participate, email Sara Almassian.
