On Friday, Sept. 29, the Barnes-Jewish College Alumni Association and the 2017 Homecoming Planning Committee hosted our annual homecoming event. The day was full of activities for students, alumni, faculty and staff. On Friday, Sept. 29, the Barnes-Jewish College Alumni Association and the 2017 Homecoming Planning Committee hosted our annual homecoming event. The theme for this year’s celebration of school and community was Caring Ways, which is an important part of the Core Values at Barnes-Jewish College Goldfarb School of Nursing. It embodies how we—alumni, students, faculty and staff—flourish when we serve our community together.
Homecoming attendees spent most of their day volunteering at onsite and offsite service projects. Onsite projects included creating postcards and magnets carrying comforting messages for patients at local hospitals and assembling care packages for families with newborns being treated in local NICUs. At our West Campus site, attendees also assembled care packages and helped organize donations at offsite locations, including Kingdom House and the International Institute of St. Louis.
Service projects
At the Homecoming lunch, Patricia Steen Eckart (class of 1958) and Jeremy Nelson (class of 2012) each received the school’s Alumni Association’s 2017 Distinguished Alumni Award. Their service and dedication to the nursing profession, and to the community they serve, truly reflect our commitment to Caring Ways.
Keynote speakers Patrick White, MD, chief medical officer for BJC Hospice, and Colleen Gilmore, RN, MSN, ANP-BS (classes of 1984 and 2009), nurse practitioner with BJC Hospice, underscored Caring Ways in their presentations highlighting BJC’s hospice program and the value nurses bring to the program.
Homecoming luncheon
Homecoming 2017 ended with a celebration that included food, dancing and prizes.
“From start to finish, we all worked together to plan, support and attend Homecoming,” said June Cowell-Oates, EdD, LPC, LCSW, CEAP, who is the director of alumni affairs and the program office of student affairs and diversity at Goldfarb. “And we can all feel proud that we are part of a college that is a thriving and vital destination for nursing education. It is rewarding to watch the Goldfarb community work together for its own benefit and the benefit of the St. Louis community.”
Goldfarb’s 2018 Homecoming is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 28, 2018. We hope you will make plans to attend.
Homecoming celebration
