An Unforgettable Experience in an Ensemble

Huma Ahmad, Verrazzano Class of 2024, completed major in Political Science and minor in Spanish

It seems like just yesterday when I participated in my final performance for A Doll’s House alongside my fellow actors. The atmosphere in the dressing room was charged with anticipation as we readied ourselves for the stage. It was during this preparation that a fellow actress proposed the idea of collaborating on an independent play with the current ensemble. Recognizing the merit of this suggestion, I embraced the concept wholeheartedly, and the journey from that moment has brought us to the present.

The subsequent day marked the culmination of our efforts in a directed student-based production titled Rossum’s Universal Robots. The array of emotions I experienced—ranging from joy to a tinge of melancholy—reflects the myriad challenges and lessons that have defined our collective journey over the months. The exhaustive hours, days, and months invested in rehearsals ultimately allowed me to immerse myself in the role of Helena Glory. This transition posed a personal challenge, as my prior commitment to embodying the character Nora from A Doll’s House raised concerns about seamlessly adopting a new persona. However, overcoming this apprehension enabled me to authentically connect with the essence of Helena Glory.

As I reflect on my acting journey spanning the last year and a half since my initial foray into the discipline, I am struck by the sense of completion. From my inaugural class with Professor Wickstrom to the mastery of acting fundamentals, I am profoundly grateful for the experiences and opportunities afforded to me by Staten Island College. The recent trilogy of performances was not merely a conclusion, but a celebration of profound emotions and significant accomplishments, instilling in me a desire to perpetuate such experiences in my future endeavors.

Looking ahead, I aspire to sustain my involvement in theatre beyond my tenure at CSI. I am hopeful that, post-graduation, avenues to participate in diverse theatrical productions will continue to unfold. The last three nights of my performance have solidified my commitment to the craft, and I eagerly anticipate the prospect of contributing to and participating in future theatrical ventures.

The Importance of Transcultural Nursing on Child and Adolescent Health Outcomes

Emily Torres, Verrazzano Class of 2024, completed major in Nursing

I learned so much about myself from developing and completing my capstone project. I began my project during the summer and feel very accomplished now that everything is complete. Many things can go wrong, which is one of the first valuable lessons I learned. It is important to remember that the work can take longer than anticipated, but it will be worth it in the end. Preparing for this is critical by setting realistic goals and accounting for failures. It is crucial to remember to maintain composure and consider the wider view because this lesson applies to everything in life.

I feel like I have evolved in many ways from this experience, by improving my ability to ask for help. This has been a significant aspect of my growth as learning to and understanding how to ask for help can help me become a better nurse. Effective communication and collaboration are extremely important aspects of being a nurse and by enhancing my willingness to know when to ask for help I am strengthening my teamwork skills overall. In the healthcare field, no one is alone and I feel that I am more prepared to work in a team setting.

There were many challenges I faced in producing my capstone, and throughout those challenges, they helped me realize why I always felt so pulled to pediatric nursing. The obstacles I faced made me even more determined to change nursing for the better. This project wasn’t just about completing a requirement to receive the title of graduating with honors. This project was about gaining skills and knowledge, along with experience that can make real changes to myself, and benefit my journey as a nurse.

I am filled with insight from completing my capstone, and I feel a stronger sense of purpose to want to work with children and adolescents. My capstone was transformative, and deepened my understanding of nursing.

Perspective Shifts: Understanding Both Sides of Growth with Psychology

 Food Taang Zheng Gimenez, Verrazzano Class of 2024, completed major in Psychology and minor in Spanish

Throughout the challenging journey of completing my capstone, I held onto the expectation of a seamless and timely conclusion, balancing the myriad responsibilities associated with graduation, my job, and other commitments. Navigating this intricate web of tasks not only taught me time management but also instilled in me the importance of resilience. Juggling these responsibilities compelled me to master the art of not just meeting deadlines but doing so with a keen sense of quality and precision. In terms of personal growth, I learned effective time management and discovered the invaluable skill of recognizing when to pause and recharge during moments of saturation. As I worked on this project alongside my mentor, the depth of my academic exploration expanded.

The journey was not just about completing a capstone; it was a transformative process where I acquired my ability to sift through vast amounts of information, distinguishing between what was essential and what was not. The effort that I set not only improved the solidity of my papers but also elevated my approach to academic research, ensuring a more comprehensive understanding of the materials vital for my education and my capstone. This journey showed me that challenges are not just hurdles but opportunities for growth and refinement.

My capstone revolves around the topic of bullying. Initially, I attempted to focus on the victims, but considering the abundance of research in that area, I decided to take a different approach and shifted my focus to explore the perspective of the bully.

To be honest, I harbored negative feelings towards bullies, influenced by my proximity to individuals who were victims of those situations. However, as I researched for this capstone, my perspective underwent a complete transformation. I now see this as a significant personal growth journey. The title of my Capstone is, “Bullying, Factors and Rehabilitation: The Perspective from the Bully and the Factors that Can Contribute to Bullying”.

With my major of Psychology, I aspire to become a School Counselor, and this capstone has immensely broadened my understanding, emphasizing the importance of considering both sides of the bullying dynamic. It has become a valuable addition to my knowledge base, providing insights that will undoubtedly shape my future role in guiding and supporting individuals.

Collaborating with Professor Valkiria Duran-Narucki, I not only gained the skills to analyze data, construct more precise arguments, and critically examine academic articles, but also discovered the transformative impact of mentorship. Professor Narucki's guidance extended beyond the technicalities of my capstone, providing insights into the broader landscape of academic and professional growth. The mentor-student dynamic was not just about receiving instructions; it became a dialogue that enriched my perspectives and fostered intellectual curiosity.

This experience underscored the crucial role that mentorship plays in shaping not only academic endeavors but also personal and professional development. It reaffirmed the belief that having a mentor like her is an investment in one's journey, offering not just guidance but a supportive partnership that propels you toward your goals.

The Comprehensive Benefits of Peer Tutoring on Nursing Students

Theodoro Mercado, Verrazzano Class of 2024, completed major in Nursing

In my nursing program at the College of Staten Island, I had the opportunity to learn an array of skills and interact with various individuals throughout my journey as a nursing student. I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with numerous teachers and peers alike who have served to guide and mentor me in growing as a student and future nurse.

My capstone explored the ramifications of mentorship on personal, academic, and professional growth. When completing this project, I was grateful to be able to work with my mentor Professor Danielle Hunton, who taught my Nursing 310 course titled, Interpersonal Dynamics for Professional Nursing.

Peer tutoring is a specific form of mentoring, and it is a form of communication that I employ either consciously or instinctively with patients and peers. The innate process of peer tutoring compels individuals to foster more effective forms of communication and reinforces their own knowledge of the respective subjects in question. It is inexplicably tied to the profession of nursing, and is a skill that is seemingly encouraged throughout the curriculum and serves to prepare students to perform well academically and to carry these skills into their eventual careers as nurses; it is for these reasons that I am ecstatic to be able to relay the implications of this skill amongst my peers.

The creation of this capstone project served as a reflection into the ways peer tutoring shaped my academic career in nursing, and while not all of its benefits were explicitly clear to me at the time, through the completion of this paper I can more succinctly identify how this form of communication shaped my experience as a fledgling nurse. Reviewing the literature for this capstone project granted me an opportunity to examine current nursing research on the employment of peer tutoring and the teach-back method in academic, clinical, and personal settings.

It was through this literature review that I am able to share my findings of these studies with my fellow students and future nurses, so that they may be able to appreciate the significance that mentoring and peer tutoring has on their future endeavors.

I am grateful to have been able to compile a formal literature review of this topic with the aid of Professor Hunton. Courses within the CSI nursing curriculum mention the role communication has within the profession, however, seldom do courses review the topic as extensively as Nursing 310. This course stressed the implications and benefits of mentoring and peer tutoring, and it is only following the completion of this capstone that I can adequately conceptualize the profound impacts that these skills have on students and nurses. This capstone project serves as a source of academic analysis and personal pride, as I was able to compile a comprehensive analysis of the benefits of a tool that was employed extensively throughout my tenure as a student.

Nurse’s Action Towards Stroke Awareness and Prevention: A Case Study

 Gabrielle Artz, Verrazzano Class of 2024, completed major in Nursing 

These past four years in the nursing program taught me so much and has helped shape the person I am today. I feel like for most students who have to complete a thesis or a capstone project, they will say that it crept up on them very quickly. I am one of those students.

Throughout my time in the nursing program I was able to figure out what I was interested in perusing and what areas I was not too fond of. My main interest is in neurological critical care, and I focused on that area for my capstone project.

I was inspired by both the Medical Surgical Nursing III course and my experience as a volunteer on the Neurology Stroke unit at a local hospital on Staten Island. I have had the privilege to work with Professor Regina Lama for this project. She has an immense amount of knowledge to contribute, and she guided me through this project, as she was a neuro critical care nurse. She also taught the course that sparked my inspiration for this project.

While volunteering on the stroke unit I heard of many cases where patients suffered from ischemic stroke who could have received treatments but did not receive the medications because the patient did not seek treatment in enough time.

I struggled trying to organize all of the points that I wanted to touch upon in my project. Professor Lama guided me to speak to people working on the stroke unit to learn more about the protocols. I did just that, and spoke with a staff nurse and the nurse manager on the unit, where they provided me with teaching handouts and the protocols they follow when they are treating a patient in the hospital.

Further reflecting on this capstone project, I gained so much knowledge in wanting to spread more awareness of stroke in the community. I was so grateful to be able to work with Professor Lama, who also teaches the nursing course 411, Community Nursing. I am proud to have been able to create a case study and analysis to provide stroke awareness and work towards preventing this life threatening event. To say the least, it has been a journey and I do not take this experience for granted.