Emma Wilson ’18 lights up when she talks about her desire to make a difference. Whether it is caring for patients in a world-class healthcare facility in Pittsburgh, working with her fellow students and peers in the School of Nursing, or delivering healthcare in a Central American barrio, Emma is changing others’ lives as well as her own.

The 2018 nursing graduate was an honors student, patient care assistant, and peer mentor in the School of Nursing and Health Sciences’ SMART and LEAD programs. Emma credits the school’s supportive faculty for helping prepare her for her future as a nurse. Her professors have rewarded her hard work, selecting her to represent RMU at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing national student policy summit in Washington.

One of Emma’s most memorable experiences has been her participation in RMU’s longstanding study abroad program with the Universidad Politecnica de Nicaragua. The experience enabled her to not only contribute medical supplies and her own hands-on assistance to clinics in poor neighborhoods, but also to gain valuable experience working with underserved populations. She also gained a global perspective on healthcare.