Class of 2011 alum Julie Lewis, shares her goals as the new Alumni Advisory Council Chair of the Barnes-Jewish College Alumni Association. Julie Lewis was just elected to serve a two-year term as Alumni Advisory Council Chair of the Barnes-Jewish College Alumni Association. The Council represents the interests of 11,000 nursing school graduates around the world and includes all alumni from the original Jewish Hospital School of Nursing, Barnes Hospital School of Nursing, Barnes-Jewish School of Nursing and Barnes-Jewish College Goldfarb School of Nursing.
Since graduating with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Goldfarb in 2011, Lewis has been an active member of the college’s Alumni Advisory Council. Her goals as Chair of the Council include increasing alumni involvement – particularly with younger alumni, creating more community partnerships and ensuring that more of the alumni events and reunions include a service component.
“I am excited about my new role,” says Lewis. “When I graduated, I learned so much from other alumni. Their perspectives and advice helped guide my career and got me to think not just about today but about where I wanted to be in 10 years – that the opportunities were limitless.”
Their advice gave Lewis the confidence to excel in her current position as assistant nurse manager in the Antepartum Unit at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. This is particularly meaningful because nursing was not Lewis’s initial career path. In 2008, her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Lewis spent a lot of time in the hospital taking care of her mom, and during that time, many of the nurses commented on how she would make an outstanding nurse. She took their advice and enrolled in Goldfarb.
“Continuing a strong mentorship program that supports younger alumni is another key goal of mine,” adds Lewis. “It is essential to help nurses transition from school to the workforce, particularly for younger nurses."
The Alumni Association is currently planning several events, such as hosting the 360 Social, a celebratory gathering that takes place each term for graduating students, recent alumni and faculty. In addition, the Alumni Association is sponsoring the 25th and 50th class reunions taking place in the spring and preparing for the college’s annual homecoming celebration in the fall.
For more information about the Barnes-Jewish College Alumni Association, contact Dr. June Cowell-Oates, Director of Alumni Affairs, at june.cowell-oates@barnesjewishcollege.edu or 314.454.8694, or visit www.BarnesJewishCollege.edu/Alumni.
