WVU School of Nursing hosts Jenab Lectureship, celebrating student awards and Sigma inductees
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The West Virginia University School of Nursing hosted the Lorita D. Jenab Lectureship on April 24, welcoming keynote speaker Dr. Cynthia Persily. The event also celebrated student awards for 2025 and the newest inductees of the Alpha Rho Chapter of the Sigma International Honor Society.
This year marked the 16th bi-annual lectureship, which pays tribute to Dr. Lorita D. Jenab, who served as the second Dean of the School of Nursing for 24 years. When she retired in 1992, the lectureship was established to recognize her contributions to the School of Nursing and to the state of West Virginia.
Dr. Persily, former Cabinet Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Human Services, presented “Excellence and Integrity: The Gateway to Leadership.” Her career spans more than 30 years of service to the state of West Virginia and its citizens, including 20 years as a professor at the WVU School of Nursing.
Student awards were presented at the event, including the following:
- PhD Award for Excellence: Kimberly Erwin
- DNP Award for Excellence: Sandy Gray
- CRNA Award for Excellence: Kaylee Bangs
- MSN Award for Excellence: Sydney Berry, Alexis Rosiello
- BSN Awards for Excellence:
- Senior Student: Isabella Haynes
- Junior Student: Halee Stevens
- Sophomore Student: Jordan Hickman
- ABSN Award for Excellence: Hannah Gjolberg
- RN to BSN Award for Excellence: Michelle Abbot
- Dr. Patsy Hesen Haslam Public Health Nursing Award: John Sulkowski
- PhD Alumni Award for Leadership: Andrea Bailey
- CRNA Alumni Award for Leadership: Carley Blair
- DNP Alumni Award for Leadership: Shannon Thompkins
- BSN Alumni Award for Leadership: Gavin Pivont
Additionally at the event, the newest inductees of the Alpha Rho Chapter of Sigma were recognized, including Matthew Amaismeier, Zakiah Bailey, Emily Baronski, Amanda Beers, Jenna Belcher, Brittany Blankenship, Emily Boehler, Andrea Bond, Julie Boney, Cole Braskey, Maci Cook, Kelsey Creager, Veronica Cyphert, Katie Davis, Cynthia Drummond, Rachel Eddy, Olivia Etter, Florentine Gnimavo, Keely Gregory, Sydney Hodges, Valeria Huby, Brianna Jackson, Julia Jiang, Ashley Joll, Alexis Martinez, Emma Martino, Emmerita Morris, Madison Mulhall, Caylee Painter, Raegan Poole, Jacklyn Power, Katharine Proctor, MaryKatherine Rae, Elizabeth Ricker, Hunter Shreve, Brendon Smith, Aubrey Snyder, Angelina Spickard, Halee Stevens, Grace Taylor, Sarah Tekavec, Elmira Tolentino, Morgan Trzebiatowski, and Victoria Weser.
The vision of Sigma is to connect and empower nursing leaders transforming global healthcare. The Sigma presentation was led by Amanda Edwards, president of the Alpha Rho Chapter.
-WVU-
MEDIA CONTACT: Wendy Holdren
Director of Communications and Marketing
WVU School of Nursing
304-581-1772; wendy.holdren@hsc.wvu.edu