Vigilando

Tina Cafeo, MSN ’97, RN

Happy New Year! We continue the challenge of engaging our alumni classes. We search for the great ideas from present students as well as alumni classes. How can we keep you involved in the professional lives of our present students and the alumni association? I have great news: we are making progress.

The membership committee has been contacting alumni in a few cities around the country, and we are pleased with the response. The committee is charged with increasing involvement and membership through the formation of Regional Committees. There are many alumni who are interested and motivated to make this happen. Alumni are reaching out to the alumni association seeking opportunities to be involved. As we move through this time of significant change in healthcare and specifically nursing, we need your expertise, wisdom, and support. If you are interested in being a part of the change process and feel you have ideas for engagement, contact us and let us know.

We have incorporated conference calling into our committee structure. No longer do you need to be physically present to participate. I challenge all of you to reflect on the wonderful experiences and education you gained while at Hopkins and become involved in the alumni and school.

We’ve been diligently planning the 2010 Alumni weekend (formerly Homecoming) which will be September 24 and 25. Please mark your calendars and plan to join us.

We are reinstituting an old tradition of having an Annual Spring Tea. It will be at the Johns Hopkins Alan Mason Chesney Medical Archives in Mt. Washington. This is a great opportunity to learn about the history of Hopkins Nursing. The date is Wednesday, May 19.

Many alumni have said how disap-pointed they are that the alumni news is no longer in the magazine. The Board is taking positive steps to once again publish the news of our alumni. Please continue to send us your updates. We want to include alumni news from all the school’s programs (BS, MSN, DNP and PhD).

I know there are a lot of alumni, like myself, whose primary degree was obtained at another university. But you need to remember that you also were given great opportunities at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. It is now time to help and give back to the students and the school.

Many of you are members of Facebook. Please join the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing Alumni page. Again, it is a great way to network and keep connected. Send us your e-mail addresses and an update of what you are doing. Stay connected, pay dues, and be involved! We depend on you.

If you have any questions, contact the Alumni office at JHNAA@son.jhmi.edu or 525 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205.