Nursing student selected as one of WVU's 2023 Outstanding Seniors
Andrew Johnson, a student in the WVU School of Nursing, has been selected as one of WVU's 2023 Outstanding Seniors.
“The WVU Order of Augusta and Outstanding Senior award recipients represent the best and brightest of graduating seniors at the University,” Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Maryanne Reed said. “Each of these students is exemplary and has made a positive impact through academic excellence, leadership and service. They will undoubtedly be forces to be reckoned with, as they lead change in their local communities and the world.”
Johnson, of Charles Town, is a senior in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program.
“I am very grateful to be awarded with the WVU Foundation’s Outstanding Senior Award. But more than that, I am extremely honored to represent the school and profession of nursing in this selection. When I read the list of my fellow award recipients, I saw people from every walk of life and many programs of study. From political science and philosophy to neuroscience and aerospace engineering, my fellow outstanding seniors are taking tremendous strides in making this university a better place, and I am honored to showcase how we as nursing students, and soon to be nurses, are doing the same," Johnson said.
“Each year, I continue to be awed by the momentous contributions our students make, both inside and outside of the classroom,” Dean of Students Corey Farris said. “As the top 1% of their graduating class, these students have made an everlasting impact on the quality of student life at WVU. I look forward to seeing what their futures hold and have no doubt we will continue to see great things from these outstanding graduates.”
Johnson commended the work of his fellow classmates, as together, they have served on the front lines of the pandemic and helped to deliver care to individuals experiencing homelessness.
"In a speech to another university almost 60 years ago, President John F. Kennedy spoke to graduating seniors about their commitment to conquering the great challenges of that day. He said, 'We choose to go to the moon, and other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of energies and skills... and it is a goal we intend to win.'
"I think it is fair for me to say that all of us in nursing did not choose this path because it is easy, but rather because with our energies and skills, we can endure the difficult task that nursing is and bring caring and compassion to people across the world. All of the seniors in my class, and all the nursing students who will someday become seniors, are Outstanding WVU Seniors. And in the same fashion as President Kennedy, I say to my fellow outstanding nursing seniors, continue to do the hard things that will test our energies and skills, or in other words, shoot for the moon.”
The 52 students named WVU Foundation Outstanding Seniors will be recognized at a drop-in event from 12:30-4:30 p.m. Friday, May 12, in the Betty Boyd Lounge of Elizabeth Moore Hall.