By Karrie Johnson, student writer, UW-Eau Claire News Bureau
Sydney Jagusch
- Stewartville, Minn.
- Nursing major
- What's next: Employment in the neuro intensive care unit at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
 |
UW-Eau Claire photo by Bill Hoepner |
With a long list of admirable accomplishments throughout her time as a nursing major at UW-Eau Claire, it's hard to believe Sydney Jagusch didn't always know which career path she would take.
"I'm not exactly one of those people who knew that they wanted to be a nurse from the very beginning," she said.
However, after taking an anatomy and physiology class in high school, and with two grandmothers who worked in the nursing field, Jagusch decided to come to UW-Eau Claire and declare a nursing major.
"Coming to Eau Claire as a freshman, I decided to declare nursing as my major, but in the back of my mind I thought I could always switch to some sort of biology major if I decided I didn't like it," she said. "Once I got into the program and saw what it was all about, I loved it."
"What it was all about" for Jagusch included much more than the often difficult coursework required for her major. She also worked as president of the Honors Program Organization, was involved with the nursing honor society Sigma Theta Tau, participated in two faculty-mentored research projects and worked as an intern at the prestigious Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. In addition, Jagusch played trombone for three years with the Blugold Marching Band, and she is set to graduate summa cum laude with both university and nursing honors. All of these experiences have helped shape her leadership skills, and she is ready to enter the professional world head-on after graduation, Jagusch said.
For example, in her position as HPO president, Jagusch was a member of the University Honors Council, which has been making major changes to the Honors Program. Participating in that process gave her important leadership experience, she said.
"I had a mock interview on campus, and they asked me how I would go about implementing change on a nursing unit," Jagusch said. "I was able to completely blow them out of the water because I told them about how we were doing things in the Honors Program and how that has helped me know what to do regarding similar policy changes elsewhere."
More on Sydney Jagusch
Future plans: I will return to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, where I had an internship in the neuro ICU last summer. I want to be in an ICU because it would be helpful in returning to graduate school, something I would love to do five or so years down the road. Two different graduate school paths that interest me would be going back to become a nurse anesthetist or to enter a Ph.D. program and go into nursing education.
Unique aspects of her UW-Eau Claire experience: One unique thing that I can say about my UW-Eau Claire experience is that I played “Sexy Back” for the pope in the Vatican on New Year's morning 2008. I love telling it that way, but in all seriousness, one unique aspect is that I was able to fit in marching band for three years, despite having nursing clinicals to work in as well. I had the pleasure of playing trombone in the most awesome marching band around!
What she liked most about her UW-Eau Claire experience: I think what I really liked the most about my experience at UW-Eau Claire was that I was able to form such close bonds with the people that I took classes with. It was really nice to have 40 other people that I took all my classes with — we really got to know each other well, and I’ll actually know the people I’ll be sitting next to at graduation. I also loved the many opportunities that were available to me — Sigma Theta Tau, Honors Program Organization (I'm the current president) and even being a part of the University Honors Council — to really feel connected in what is happening with the university Honors Program. I was also able to participate in both the university and nursing honors programs. With university honors I was exposed to many different people with various majors that all had very different takes on things, which really exposed me to different ways of looking at things. In nursing honors I was able to explore a topic of my choice (women’s health) more in-depth than many of my classmates.
Highlights of life at UW-Eau Claire:
- Trip to Italy and Greece with the Blugold Marching Band.
- Participating in both university and nursing honors.
Proudest college accomplishments: Well, getting into the nursing program was a huge plus! Beyond that, I’m really proud to be graduating summa cum laude, and in four years, no less. I worked hard for this and I can’t wait to be walking across that stage!
Advice for incoming students: I think I would have to say take time for yourself. I would have never made it through without taking breaks. When there are things to do, it’s really difficult for me to take “me-time,” but I’ve found that I work much harder during the time I am working if I give myself this time — even as simple as just taking an hour to watch a TV show once a week.
Learn about other featured May 2010 graduates
