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Assistant Professor Dr. Chukwudi C. Ekwemalor and Pacesetter BSN student Lance Edwards share two things in common – backgrounds in mental health and recognition in the Houston Chronicle’s 2021 Salute to Nurses. “Dr. Chudi” was named one of Houston’s Top 150 nurses, and Edwards received one of only three student scholarships.

Throughout the past year, everyone has faced challenges that have impacted their personal and professional lives due to COVID-19. While many retreated to their homes to stay safe from the virus, others – like nurses – worked the front lines, provided care to their patients via telecommunication, and carried on with research and teaching their nursing students.

Meet four Pacesetter BSN students who did not let a pandemic stop them from completing their studies to become nurses. (Pictured is student Isabel Blow during a community health nursing rotation at a local hospital.)

Associate Dean for Graduate Studies Susan D. Ruppert, PhD, RN, FNP-C, ANP-BC, has become the first faculty member of Cizik School of Nursing at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston to receive the prestigious Minnie Stevens Piper Professor award.

Stacey Crane, PhD, RN, CPON, and Deniz Dishman, PhD, DNAP, MSN, CRNA, are among an elite group of nurses across the Lone Star State who were honored this week with “20 for 2020 Awards” from the Texas Nurses Foundation and the Texas Nurses Association.