Cheryl Zawaduk (left) and friends at the TRU Nursing Alumni reception, June 2015.
Who: Cheryl Zawaduk
Occupation: Nurse Educator, Retired
Bio:
Upon graduating from Cariboo College, Cheryl Zawaduk began nursing at Prince Rupert Regional Hospital. She returned to Royal Inland Hospital in 1978 and started teaching at Cariboo College in 1985 before completing a Master of Science degree from University of Portland in 1994. She went on to complete a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Simon Fraser University in 2011 wherein the thesis was titled It Takes a Village: Rural Nursing Preceptorships as Cultural Mediation. In her time at TRU, she took up several academic roles at Thompson Rivers University: Educator, Program Coordinator, Practice Placement Coordinator, Nursing Chair, Academic Director Open Learning, Interim Dean School of Nursing. She has been honoured with a Nursing Education Excellence award by the Registered Nurses Association of British Columbia and received an honorary title of Professor Emerita from Thompson Rivers University in 2014 when she retired.
Connection to TRU?
Graduated from Cariboo College Nursing Diploma Program 1976.
Began as a Nurse Educator with Cariboo College in 1985 and retired from TRU in 2014.
TR-U-CC Nursing Alumni Booster 2014-onward
What made you decide to give back to TRU?
Several sources of inspiration underpin my decision to donate to TRU.
TRU gave me my initial education, long-standing meaningful employment, and opportunities for educational and professional advancement.
My parents, Tony and Verna Zawaduk, have also been inspiring. They have set up several financial awards at Thompson Rivers University. My brother Mitchell who studied at Cariboo College in the early 80’s passed away in 1993 and we’ve been making donations to TRU in remembrance of my brother for many years.
My first nursing position was in Prince Rupert, a rural community in British Columbia. My position at TRU often had me engaged with rural practice professionals as nursing students, normally in their final year that were assigned for three month practicums in places like Williams Lake, 100 Mile, Lillooet, Merritt, Clearwater. It was these experiences, of coming to appreciate the importance of rural health care, that fostered my decision to establish a graduation award to recognize students who had demonstrated an interest and competence in rural nursing.
Primarily the students are sources of inspiration. Nursing is a challenging program and demands substantial time and personal resources to complete. Financial stress for students can undermine academic success. Many students must find a balance between employment necessary to live and the demands of studying for their future career. Helping students financially can make a difference in their educational outcomes and thus the quality of nursing care they provide.
Why is giving back important to you?
Giving back to TRU, whether it be in awards or scholarships, mentoring, or alumni events fits for me as a way to honour the past support I was given as a student and employee, while keeping me engaged in the present while possibly making a difference in someone’s future.
