Regina Grey Nuns Hospital School of Nursing - Memorare Yearbook (Regina, Saskatchewan Canada)

Page 31 text:

HONORARY PRIZES General Proficiency Executive Ability Highest Standing in Theory Bedside Nursing Applied Ethics Obstetrical Nursing Pediatric Nursing Operating Room Technique Urology Surgical Nursing Devotion to Duty Miss Leona Therens Miss Meredith J. McVeigh Miss Myrna A. Everest Miss Sharon E. Lofgren Miss Winona H. Schick Miss Claudette L. Verbeke Miss Claudia A. Dupmeier Miss Jean V. May Miss Beverly R. Bryan Miss Thelma A. LeCaine Miss Marian V. E. Koltun Miss Kathleen M. Balazs Miss B. Joan Sangster Miss Sharon M. Connaughty

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HELEN FREY “Those thousand decencies that daily flow from all her words and actions.” Kronau, Sask. IVADELL BROWN She will meet with success, Unexpected in common hours. , Disley, Sask. ZANE KOZOWY “The only way to have a friend Is to be one. Osage, Sask. A Letter To Mom and Dad Dear Mom and Dad, Tonight I have been thinking over the past three years and I could think of no better way to express my gratitude for all you have been to me, than to write this letter. How much you have meant to me, and how I have grown to realize the sacrifices you have made for me! You were always there with encouraging words and a helping hand and I knew I could always turn to you when in doubt and desparity. Tomorrow is graduation day and you will be out there in the crowd, letting me take all the glory, when you should be up there with me as it is you who deserve most of the credit for this moment. It seems like only yesterday when I took that first big step. I remember the empty feeling I had when I felt the door close behind me as I entered the first phase of training, but I went forth with confidence as I knew you were beside me to guide me, to give me the support I needed so much. At each new challenge your words would echo in my mind and give me the strength to accept the challenge and conquer it. At capping you were there as I was officially accepted into the training school, as I went up the first rung of the ladder. The second and third years have slipped by so quickly. I’m sure you never knew what to expect - first a letter of woe and despondency, then one of excitement and--I think it was you, dad who suffered the most-your pocketbook anyway. How you would laugh when I came home and related my many blunde rs! But you were always there sharing my moods and sympathizing-sometimes scolding, but ever ready to lend a helping hand. I sincerely hope I have justified your pride in me, and in the future continue to live up to the standards you have set for me and encouraged me to follow. Thank you, mom and dad, a small word to express the deep appreciation I have for your constant faith, guidance, and assistance. I can only thank God for having two wonderful parents like you. Your loving daughter.

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Year after year, enthusiastic, misty-eyed nurses, eagerly awaiting the coveted black band, are sur¬ rounded by friends, flowers.songs and promises, as they stand on the threshold of the unknown future. And so it is tonight, on this our Graduation day, that 83 “Daughters in White’’, their hearts overflowing with happiness pause for their “hour of glory”. “There is a destiny that makes us brothers, None goes his way alone. All we send into the lives of others Comes back into our own.” On arrival at R.G.N,H. we timidly opened the “gate” to the nursing profession, presently we are wel¬ comed into the “blessed field of healing arts”. Many the time we have said, “Why did I want to become a nurse?” We grew a little older, and a little wiser, we were unable to answer other than “There is a Provi¬ dence that shapes our lives.” Tonight we stand here, our faces revealing our inner emotions, we’ve realized that being a nurse means more than a black band and a white uniform. It is a bitter sweet career of self¬ devotedness, success and spiritual growth. There are sad, sometimes frightening aspects--the sight and smell of disease and death; the little differences that must arise between nurse patient, nurse and doctor, nurse and nurse; the hopeless feeling of knowing sometimes you can only prolong a precious life for awhile, not assist in the complete restoration of health. A nurse comes in contact with pain, sickness, sorrow and accidents of man and nature. Her obligation requires that she do what she can, to bring about a happy ending to the ills of her patients. She gets satisfaction when she can honestly say to herself, “I was of service in this”. Fellow Graduates, it has been said, Nurses, the world is in great need of you! What have we to offer? The answer, “The hands to serve, the heart to care, and the will to learn,” depends on each and everyone of us. In our world today, there is so much to do, and so little time to do it. A nurse affects eternity, she can never tell where her influence stops. Just as the cycle of seasons sends forth, in its time, summer, fall, winter and spring, so 83 hearts, at this moment, portray their “seasoned” emotions; joy, fear, sadness and thanksgiving. Joy--at the attain¬ ment of the long awaited goal of a Graduate Nurse. Fear--of the unforseen future that we face to-morrow. Sadness-- at the thought of leaving behind our Alma Mater and our friends therein, and Thanksgiving to all who have made our dream a reality.