Nursing celebrates Spirit Week

Boosting school pride, the School of Nursing is celebrating its second annual Nursing Spirit Week this week with a series of events and lectures throughout the school.

Nursing Spirit Week is run by Student Nurses at Penn and includes special days such as Wear Your Scrubs to Class Day and Faculty and Staff Appreciation Day.

"It is a fun way to bring Nursing students, faculty and staff together," said Nursing freshman and SNAP Bringing Resources and Academic Improvement to Nursing Students Chairwoman Susan Paul, noting that Nursing freshmen in particular stand to benefit by meeting others in the school.

Tonight, SNAP is holding the Nursing Downtown Party fundraiser at the club Paradigm. Profits will be used "to send people to conventions and have a blood drive and do a lot of different things for Nursing students," Paul said.

SNAP Events Chairwoman and Nursing freshman Katie Hoskins said that the party will be both fun and financially helpful for SNAP.

"We're trying to make it an annual thing ... . We have such a limited budget. So basically, we wanted to find the cheapest place that was still classy. Hopefully, we'll have a big turnout," Hoskins said, adding, "It's nice to see your classmates in a social setting."

The week will conclude with Inspirational Nursing Day tomorrow where students will be able to attend lectures held by various nurses who work at Penn and are influential in the field.

"If that's what I'm going to do with my life, it would just be relevant and good to hear positive things and reinforcement that nursing is the right career for me," Nursing freshman Jenna Angerstein said, praising the inclusion of Inspirational Nursing Day during the celebratory week.

Nursing freshman Christine Becer was excited about experiencing her first Nursing Spirit Week.

"I wore my scrubs on Monday ... . I think that the Nursing semiformal sounds really fun," she said. "I remember last year, their Nursing Ball was the same weekend as preview weekend, so we heard about it from the girls we were staying with, and it sounded like it was going to be a good time."

In general, students were excited about Nursing Spirit Week and the opportunity it would afford them to meet with classmates and faculty in a different setting.

"Because it's mostly Nursing students, it is a good way to hang out with your class outside of class, and it's a good way to relax. Free ice cream is a good thing," Becer said.

Hoskins added that the atmosphere of Nursing Spirit Week was enhanced because those in SNAP were dedicated to organizing events that unified the school.

"It's really exciting because everyone is excited to become a nurse ... . It's a great environment to be in all the time ... it's a really great group of girls and boys," she said.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.