Senior Brady Jorud (accelerated nursing) and junior Hallee Anderson were honored with DAISY Awards.
The DAISY Award is a national program that recognizes above-and-beyond care that nurses provide to patients. The DAISY Foundation has expanded its award program to recognize exceptional nursing students. The Concordia program awards two students, one at the senior level and one at the junior level, twice per year. Nominations come from faculty, clinical instructors, staff, and peers.
All the award nominees pictured below (front row, L-R): Hallee Anderson ’24, Izzy Anderson ’25, Betsy Davis ’25, and (back row, L-R): Leo Hanson ’24, Jacob Meyer ’24, Jonathon Melhus ’23, Brady Jorud ’23. Not pictured: Adriana Vigil ’24 and Kayla Thorson ’23 (accelerated nursing).
“Brady is always willing to help others,” said Amanda Tracy, assistant professor of nursing. “He works hard to learn new concepts and encourages others within his cohort. Brady goes above and beyond in the classroom, asking well-thought-out questions, and he works to better understand the content and is always willing to help where necessary. He pushes himself and others to be their best. He takes responsibility for his learning and seeks knowledge wherever he is at. Brady is a role model for his cohort and exemplifies nursing in a positive light.”
Jorud said he’s very thankful to be in the accelerated nursing program with such a great group of individuals.
“I feel like any one of us could have been nominated for the DAISY award since we all bring something unique to class every day, so to be nominated was pretty cool,” he said. “I try to keep things light and not so serious especially when the stress of the program can start to wear us down. We have all grown very close, and I am happy that I was able to make a positive contribution to this program.”
Tracy said that Hallee Anderson is a calm, collected, and caring presence at the patient’s bedside.
“On one occasion, Hallee was providing care to a nearing end-of-life patient. She provided support and comfort measures to the patient and the entire family,” Tracy said. “She cared for the patient as a whole and worked with the nurse to get the patient’s dogs to the floor to be with her. She cried with the patient’s family and lent support when needed. Her buddy nurse for the day was very impressed with her compassionate care and how she handled such a challenging and emotional situation.”
“It’s an honor to receive the DAISY award,” Anderson said. “I would like to thank and credit my professors and clinical instructors for being such wonderful educators and preparing us for the clinical role!”
Read more: Concordia’s Nursing Program Ranked Number One in Minnesota | Concordia College