A lot has changed in nursing education over the last two decades and no one knows this better than Oakland University’s School of Nursing class of 1987. Alumni from the class of 1987 gathered together for their 25th reunion at the Human Health Building, sponsored by the School of Nursing.
The evening began with a tour of the new home of the School of Nursing, the Human Health Building (HHB). The guests were in awe as they compared and contrasted their own education experiences. Of all of the amenities in the new building, the alumni were most impressed with the new simulation labs on the fourth floor of the HHB. The labs are not only exact replicas of today’s hospital rooms, but they allow students to practice every type of scenario imaginable before ever having to see a‘live’ patient, a luxury students in 1987 did not have.
The group moved over to Mitchell’s Fish Market in the Village of Rochester Hills for dinner where they shared stories of their experiences in clinicals and lecture halls, particularly with the recently retired SON faculty member, Frances Jackson. They only wished they were able to reconnect with more of their fellow classmates.
Tickets to the reunion were purchased in advance and a portion of the ticket price went to the Alumni Scholarship Program. Thanks to these alumni gatherings and donations, the School of Nursing was able to present $2,000 in additional scholarships to assist students in nursing.
The SON hosts reunions for those who graduated five, fifteen and twenty-five years ago. For those who graduated in 1988, 1998 and 2008, reunions will coincide with Oakland’s Homecoming event on Saturday, January 26, 2013.
For more information on the alumni reunions, please contact Cynthia Rutledge at carutled@oakland.edu.