Two students standing in front of artwork

Be the One

by Susan Neale

“Welcome to the College of Nursing,” said Dean Karen Rose, PhD, RN, FGSA, FNAP, FAAN, to the group of Linden McKinley STEM Academy students who gathered around her in the sunlit Atrium of Jane E. Heminger Hall in January. “I hope to see some of you here in years to come. Nursing is an amazing profession, and I encourage you to think about it. We need you.” The high school students, who all participate in an elective class called “Be the One,” proudly shook hands and introduced themselves to College of Nursing faculty and staff. 

The students were not only there for a day of learning about Ohio State and nursing as a career; they were also there to be celebrated as artists. Thirty-one pieces of their artwork based on the question, “What does wellness mean to you?” were on display in the Martha S. Pitzer Center’s office.

“Be the One is designed to empower students to develop inner strength, resilience and coping mechanisms to combat the negative impacts of childhood traumas,” Chris Fortney, PhD, RN, FPCN, FAAN, explained. “The Linden-McKinley students with whom we engage take Be the One as an elective course with a curriculum that addresses students’ social-emotional learning needs. This artwork that they created is an output of that learning, and it’s so awe-inspiring to see how they’ve grown through their participation.”

The Martha S. Pitzer Center and the college’s Office of Community Outreach and Engagement partners regularly with the Be the One class to provide health and wellness information to these students. Fortney, who often visits the students at their school, thanked them for giving back. “Your art has been serving as an inspiration to us,” she told them. 

The students toured the college’s Technology Learning Complex (TLC), virtual reality lab and Connie Hahn Sharpe and Gary Sharpe Innovation Center. They also learned about the college’s Community Health Workers Training Program and its signature Summer Institute for Future Nurses.

Carla Hegyi, Karen Patricia Williams, Dawn Heideman and Chris Fortney with the Martha S. Pitzer Center’s donation to the Be the One program. Their fingers are raised in the Be the One salute.
Carla Hegyi, Karen Patricia Williams, Dawn Heideman and Chris Fortney with the Martha S. Pitzer Center’s donation to the Be the One program. Their fingers are raised in the Be the One salute.

The visit closed with Karen Patricia Williams, PhD, nursing distinguished professor of women’s health and Pitzer Center executive director, presenting a check for $1,000 to Linden-McKinley STEM Academy to support their ongoing academic and experiential work through this partnership.

“This program creates a ripple effect of kindness, consideration and inclusion that truly makes a difference in the lives of our young people,” Williams said. “We’re very hopeful that … these students will recognize the strength within them and be encouraged to share that strength and inspiration with others in their communities.”

A long-standing partnership

Dawn Heideman, founder and co-teacher of Be the One at Linden McKinley, started the program in 2015 for students in need of emotional support. Linden-McKinley STEM Academy is located in the economically disadvantaged Columbus community of Linden, where crime rates are 25.6% higher than Columbus overall and 104% higher than the national average. Heideman started the program after a student witnessed the shooting of her own mother. 

The College of Nursing has served as a community partner to the Be the One program since autumn 2018, when four faculty members – Fortney, Stephanie Hosley, DNP, APRN-CNP, CPNP-PC, CNE, FNAP, Tara Spalla King, PhD, RN, and Tara O’Brien, PhD, RN, CNE – started presenting monthly to students about various health topics with support from the Sigma Theta Tau Epsilon Chapter. In 2023, groups of senior students from the college’s Community Nursing course started completing clinical hours through engagement with the program.

Hope for the future

The students’ statements that accompanied their art showed that they are learning a lot about coping skills. “When I listen to music, I calm down, like when I’m mad or sad,” wrote Annette G., age 13. “Reading always helps me regulate my emotions and calms my mind,” wrote Genesis R., 17. “I want to meditate because it can help me control my anger,” wrote Dusty D., 16. “Art and music bring me peace and a sense of belonging,” wrote Skylar H., 17. “Everything I do is for my future. I have to work extra hard to be a neurosurgeon, like I dream to be. I plan out my future so I’m not stressing,” wrote Aaliyah F., 15.

Framed student artwork that reads, "Never stop improving yourself"

Heideman beamed with pride as the class walked quietly through the halls, thanked people and worked well together in the TLC, holding model infants and listening to explanations about the technology. She encouraged them to ask questions and to imagine themselves in a future involving nursing. She stressed that no matter what they wanted from the future, they could count on other people for guidance and assistance.

“There are people in your lives who have your back, no matter what. You might not even know them yet,” she said. Heideman mentioned donors and friends who had supplied the class with snacks, their Be the One hoodies and art supplies. Then she indicated the College of Nursing faculty and students surrounding them. 

“There are people who want to help you. You are never alone,” she said. “You just have to be great.”