Alora Mae Greene

Alora Mae Greene What is your major?
My major is Nursing

What is something you wish everyone knew about your major?
I wish people knew that although nursing is known to be a difficult major and has a high workload, it is filled with so much joy and vulnerability. Nursing necessitates not only care and compassion, but also knowledge, expertise, and judgment.

What was your most impactful class or professor?
The most impactful class that I have taken was titled “Sticky Issues and Nursing Ethics” with Professor Heidi Monroe. In this course, I found it incredibly interesting how mental health care is needed in many different parts of the world. The scarcity of resources has resulted in the unfortunate reality that in developing countries. There is an estimated amount of 75–85% of untreated mental illness patients. This statistic shocked me and has led to a new interest of mine in becoming a nurse abroad due to a large amount of mental stigmatization and moral complexities of providing care in foreign settings where there is a lack of resources. 

What are some of your career goals?
After receiving my BSN from SPU, I intend on beginning my nursing career on a postpartum or NICU floor. After gaining further specialized experience, I would love to serve for the Red Cross, Disaster Relief, and Medical Missions both domestically and internationally. I also have a passion for mental health care and would love to partake in medical missions specializing in psychiatric care in order to spread the message that there can be “no health without mental health” and that the overarching goal is to place more emphasis on professional care rather than a cure.

What advice do you have for incoming students?
My advice for incoming students is to take advantage of the resources that SPU offers and take time for yourselves! Put yourselves first and remember that your happiness and overall well-being are the priority. 

What SPU has meant to you?
SPU has shown me tremendous amounts of personal growth that I had never expected. Beyond the assignments, exams, and papers, I have learned more about myself and the person that I want to be as I transition to new phases of my life.