USD Magazine Summer 2019

done, you have this amazing feel- ing of accomplishment.” By the time he enrolled in the doctoral program, Velez was work- ing as chief nursing officer at Sharp Chula Vista.“I wanted to do some- thing that was valuable to me as an employee of an organization,” he says.“It’s why I took all my elec- tives in the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, and why my research looked at organi- zational trust.” For the past decade, Velez has served as CEO of the only Sharp hospital he’s ever worked at, overseeing a staff of 1,600 and managing construction of a gleaming new $244 million tower. He’s still a firm believer in higher education and is quick to encourage colleagues who may be considering it. “I think the entire community benefits from the graduate nursing program,”he says.“When nurses come back here with knowledge of clinical research and evidence- based practice, it’s not just the hospital that benefits. We elevate the level of care for our patients.” Over the course of her 30-plus years at Sharp HealthCare, Susan Stone ‘93 (MSN), ‘08 (PhD) has made an indelible mark. Beginning as an undergraduate nursing stu- dent, she advanced through the leadership ranks and crisscrossed among its hospitals. Along the way, she collected countless

model that became the subject of her PhD dissertation. “I initially thought I’d be a nurs- ing professor,””she says.“After im- plementing many community- wide health care improvement initiatives, I recognized the oppor- tunity to make a difference on a larger scale. I’m grateful to Sharp HealthCare and Marion Hubbard. I never imagined I’d be in the posi- tion I am today.” As CEO of Sharp Coronado, Stone runs a full-service communi- ty hospital and often draws upon her graduate nursing skills to ana- lyze research and statistics in deci- sion-making.“I know of probably 40 nurses at Sharp who have gone through the program and are now publishing and making a differ- ence while showing how nursing practice can really influence pa- tient care and community well- ness,”she says. “When people ask me whether they should pursue a PhD, my unfailing answer is ‘Yes! It will give you knowledge in nursing leadership but it will also give you choices as your career goes on.’ I’ve never regretted my decision for one moment.”

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PARENTS’ POWER T Hol istic support for at-risk students by Timothy McKernan he USD Parent Board has voted to increase support to at-risk students and

Alessio says.“Taking the knowl- edge I had gained at my son’s school, I brought this to the Parents Association Board. As a result, a larger food pantry was established, then stocked. The pantry also provides everyday necessities as well as clothing for interviews and internships that these students need.” With the recent Parent Board vote, the Parent Partnership Fund will now further assist these students. “We realize there’s a social engagement component that rounds out the university experi- ence which is not being met,”Ales- sio says.“It’s easy to pretend these aren’t issues at USD but that’s not the case. This is our first step in a long journey to help students with the most need. We are USD and service begins with us.”

Torero Renaissance Scholars, those who were once in the foster-care system and are home- less or at risk of being homeless, and experience food insecurity. Vice President of Student Life Cynthia Avery began a fund in 2012 to help cover tuition, food and housing expenses as well as books and supplies for these students. Parent Board member Marco Alessio ‘84 says he and his wife Kimberly ’87, now president-elect of the Alumni Association Board, became acutely aware of food and housing insecurity at their son’s college in the Northwest. And on this campus, some stu- dents had to choose between paying for food and housing or paying for a textbook. “We were stunned to hear these issues existed at USD,”

awards and implemented a groundbreaking patient care

Influential

To learn more, email parents@ sandiego.edu.

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SUMMER 2019