#uwec

The university of Wisconsin Eau Claire college republicans club recently held a Halloween party and costume contest which awarded a couple distastefully dressed as an ICE agent and a stereotype of an illegal immigrant. They then proudly posed for a photo and posted it to Instagram, referring to the costumes as “awesome” in the caption.

This post quickly received criticism from the UWEC student body and sometime after the photo was removed from the slideshow. in a reply to someone tagging them in the post, UWEC’s official instagram account commented this:

Early this afternoon students noticed the comment was removed from the offending post, and shortly after the following email was sent out to the student body:

For more info:

I came into college knowing that I wanted to be a nurse and I knew it was going to take a lot of work to get in the UWEC Nursing program. A lot of my time during my first year was spent in the library studying for Anatomy and Physiology exams. Luckily, I had Blugold Beginnings! Going to the schools and mentoring the kids was always a nice way to take my mind off school for a while. The Blugold Beginning Office provided me with a lot of support and gave me the opportunity to go on the Civil Rights Pilgrimage, which was an experience I will never forget! I learned so much on this trip and made some new friends along the way!

At the end of my first year I was able to apply to the nursing program and I was accepted to start the program the following year. I was excited and nervous at the same time, but most of all I was ready to start my journey to become a Registered Nurse. Nursing school lived up to all the rumors I heard prior to coming to UWEC. It proved to challenge me in ways I had never been challenged before. I’m not going to lie, there were times where I thought to myself, “Am I really cut out to be a nurse?” But I reminded myself why I wanted to become a nurse and it gave me the motivation to get through whatever obstacle was in my way. The first semester was probably the most difficult for me since I had no idea what I was doing and had never really learned the material before. It took me awhile to adjust, but once I got into a groove, I was able to gain confidence in what I was doing.

Between my junior and senior year of college I had the opportunity to go on an immersion trip to Taiwan. In Taiwan we were able observe in three different cities in three different healthcare settings. It was really cool to see the healthcare system there compared to what we have here. In Taiwan they follow more of the traditional Chinese medicinal practices, so we got to see how they cared for wounds using different herbs or how they cared for pain using acupuncture. I was able to try acupuncture out on my face to help with headaches, it was kind of scary when they put the needles in by my nose. The needles were so small I barely felt them. I learned so much about the culture and met so many wonderful people, I’m so glad I was able to participate in such a wonderful trip. While in Taiwan we were able to travel as well and do some sight-seeing. We also got to eat some interesting food, that I am even surprised I was able to eat. This trip helped me grow as a future nurse by showing me alternative medical treatments, but also by learning about a new culture! Taiwan is a place I would highly recommend traveling to! I chose just a few of the pictures from Taiwan to share with you, there are many more!

Our group visited a small village and participated in a tribal dance and had the chance to eat a traditional meal in their village.

I found a great group of friends in the program, in which we all supported each other and made the best of it. I don’t think I would have made it through the program if I didn’t have these people to look to for help and guidance. We often had study groups in the library and would study for our skill check offs or for exams, which helped tremendously! It’s crazy to think that our five semesters in the program brought us so close and I’m not quite sure how I’ll be able to leave these awesome friends in less than a month. We’ve made so many memories together that I will always be thankful for them.

I must also thank my family for their continuous support throughout the journey of my entire program. They allowed me to use them as my “practice dummies” when I needed to practice taking blood pressures or practice other skills we were learning. I especially need to thank my mom as she took many phone calls from me asking for help or just simply complaining about classes. My family has always believed in me (even when I didn’t believe in myself) and they have always pushed me to be a better person and follow my goals. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them, so for that I thank my family!

As my time here at UWEC is coming to an end, I can’t help but think of all the memories I have made here. It’s hard to say which of those are my favorite because I feel that all of them played an important role in where I am today. I am really sad to be graduating as these last four years have truly been the best four years of my life. I can’t wait to see where the lessons I have learned take me in life. I am forever grateful for all the people I have met here at UWEC and I will always keep them close to me. I am so glad to have been a Blugold. Thank you to everyone who has impacted my life and has helped me along this journey, I am forever grateful for you! Here’s to becoming JoAnn Harris BSN, RN!