USD Magazine Summer 2019

TORERO  NEWS

Ritamarie Smedile, BSN, MSN-ENL ‘20, RN was one of three students who spoke eloquently at this year’s Annual Scholarship Appreciation Luncheon.

C e l e b r a t i ng USD ’ s 3 2nd Annu a l S c ho l a r s h i p App r e c i a t i on L un c h e on [ g e n e r o s i t y ] ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

CORY IMMELE

by Krystn Shrieve

R

itamarie Smedile, BSN, MSN-ENL ’20, RN, a gradu- ate student in the Hahn

a different school or program at the university. This year’s focus was on USD’s Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, which was established in 1974. Today, it’s among the top Catholic graduate nursing schools in the nation. In 2017 and 2018, USD’s nursing students contributed more than 105,000 hours serving the community. Smedile is no stranger to service. After graduating with

her bachelor’s degree in nursing nearly 10 years ago, she signed on as a volunteer at an all-boys orphanage in rural Honduras called Amigos de Jesus, and later worked for the orphanage again, this time as the stateside director of the head office in Philadelphia. But she needed more. So, Smedile began praying, ask- ing God to show her a sign. That’s when she learned about the exec- utive nurse leadership program at

USD’s School of Nursing. “I felt a ping in my heart,” she told a crowd of more than 400 students and donors during this year’s luncheon. “This program felt like the perfect next step to integrate my clinical nurse experi- ence with my passion for man- agement and leadership.” She subsequently became a recipient of the Dean’s merit scholarship — yet another sign that she was doing the right thing.

School of Nursing’s executive nurse leadership program, is a true Changemaker. She was one of three students and two benefactors who shared stories of how scholarships change lives at the 32nd Annual Scholarship Appreciation Luncheon in March 2019. Each year the event highlights

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