By Ciara Wiegers
There’s a moment at the start of every year that never loses its magic. Orientation morning. Students walk in with nervous smiles, a caffeinated beverage, and the kind of hope you can feel before they even say a word. They don’t know where anything is yet. They don’t know each other. They don’t know what’s coming. But I do. And every time, I feel lucky to witness the beginning of their story.
As Director of Student Engagement, I get to see their journey from a perspective that feels almost like a privilege. I’m not their instructor or their clinical supervisor. I’m the person who shows up to their first lab with a camera in hand, ready to capture the moment they put on gloves, take their first vitals, or practice a skill they’ve been nervous about all week. I get to watch their confidence grow frame by frame, semester by semester.
I see the friendships forming in real time. The laughter during Welcome Week. The inside jokes that start in the hallway. The way they show up for each other in labs, in study rooms, and in the middle of long days when everyone is exhausted but still pushing forward. I see the spark when they realize they’ve found their people.
And I see the hard moments too. The ones that don’t make it into photos. I’ve had students cry in my office because life didn’t pause just because school got hard. I’ve watched them navigate loss, heartbreak, financial stress, and moments where they weren’t sure they could keep going. I’ve seen students become parents, sometimes again, balancing bottles and textbooks with a strength that leaves me in awe.
What they don’t always realize is that they’ve supported me too. They’ve made me laugh on days when I needed it more than they knew. They’ve reminded me why this work matters, why community matters, and why showing up for people matters.
And then, somehow, we arrive at graduation.
I watch them line up in their regalia, the same students who once wandered around Orientation trying to find the right room. Now they stand tall, ready to walk across a stage that represents every late night, every ATI exam, every tear, and every triumph. When their name is called, I don’t just see a graduate. I see the whole journey. The courage. The growth. The resilience. The becoming.
It is one of the greatest honors of my career to walk beside them from that first nervous hello to the moment they step into the world as nurses. Every class leaves a mark on me. Every student teaches me something about strength, compassion, and what it means to keep going even when it’s hard.
This work is not just my job. It’s my honor.