Dr. Ginette Lemire Rodger Award

I first applied to nursing school because I enjoyed being around people, the acute healthcare environment, and knew that my personality and values aligned well with the profession. I saw myself working in a high acuity fast paced environment within health care delivery.  Fast forward to this past year, my final year in my undergraduate nursing education- my passions and interests in nursing have completely changed.  I found my passion in nursing in research, policy, and leadership.  After spending two years on the Canadian Nursing Students’ Association board as the Global Health Chair, I found an area that I could potentially make an impact in that aligned with my passion for global health, nursing, and student/novice nurse engagement.  There is a great need for more nurses to be within global health decision-making roles, and to help that to happen, we need to start as early as possible in the nursing journey.  I really believe it needs to start with young people.  Nursing has a unique, valuable, and an important role to play in this landscape.  My thesis work will focus on nursing voice and representation in global health governance.

I am now pursuing graduate studies at the University of British Columbia in a dual-Master’s program leading to a Master of Science in Nursing and a Master of Public Health. After founding this organization, I was recently elected as the President of the Global Association of Student and Novice Nurses (GASNN).  My role with GASNN is to promote, engage, and facilitate this population in global health policy and to have a unified voice for the first time.