Student Spotlight - Neal Cragg
Hometown: Burlington, WI
Graduation Year/Program: DNP 2021 – Adult-Gero Acute Care
What is your research/areas of interest? Palliative Care
Do you have a faculty mentor? Joelle Fathi
Are you a scholarship recipient? Nursing Scholarship Fund, Palliative Care Training Center – General Scholarship
Why did you choose nursing? Nursing is a profession of strong ethics, fierce advocacy, emotional depth and powerful patient stories; I was sold from day 1 of my first nursing class, freshman year at University of Wisconsin (go Badgers!)
Has COVID-19 impacted your decision to go in to nursing? I was already too far committed into being a nurse prior to this past year! But honestly, I’m so proud and grateful for our profession; we ALL deserve every ounce of praise!
How has your experience at the School of Nursing helped you with your career trajectory? The School of Nursing supported my dream of becoming an inpatient palliative NP, even when I myself had doubts. I was also able to be a TA multiple times, which has given me phenomenal teaching and academic experience.
What are your plans after graduation? Sleep? Study for boards? Have a cocktail?
And after that, staying in the Seattle area as an inpatient palliative NP at Overlake Hospital in Bellevue, WA.
Anything else you would like to share? I have been fairly well involved with unicoRN, the nursing LGBTQIA student org, and hope to continue advocating as an alum for the SoN to progress towards a more diverse and inclusive curriculum for all intersections of life.