Dr. Michael Wilder, vice president for academic affairs, was the keynote speaker for the ceremony honoring the 55 students inducted into the South Carolina Zeta Chapter of Alpha Chi. The achievements of these scholars indicate they understand and uphold the ideals of Alpha Chi – truth and character. 

Alpha Chi, founded in 1922, is celebrating its 104^th anniversary in 2026. It is a coeducational society whose purpose is to promote academic excellence and exemplary character among college and university students and to honor those who achieve such distinction. Alpha Chi is a general honor society that admits students from all academic disciplines and is a member of good standing of the Association of College Honor Societies.  To qualify for an invitation, students must be in the top 10% of their junior or senior class.

The university celebrated its 50-year partnership with the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation recently. Since 1973, the foundation has supported CSU healthcare students with more than $2,600,000 in funding.

Dr. Vicki Ball, dean of the College of Nursing said, “The pursuit of a BSN degree in nursing is perhaps one of the most challenging educational journeys.  As a professional discipline, nursing requires that students balance the demands of academics and clinical experiences while also demonstrating the highest degree of professionalism when caring for patients and families. In addition to tuition and room and board, nursing students have to purchase clinical uniforms and other professional equipment and maintain personal vehicles for transportation to and from clinical locations. This can be quite costly and stressful for the students. The LPW Foundation Scholarship program provides critical funding for these students to eliminate some of the financial burden associated with nursing school and allows them to focus on their studies and clinical experiences.  

The foundation, created in honor of Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans, a businesswoman and philanthropist, provides funds for Christian females in financial need in Southeastern states. 

Perkins identified a need in her work and developed a project on her unit that not only lead to every patient receiving a daily bath but also has landed her a position as a presenter at the American Nurses Credentialing Center National Magnet Conference this fall.

After Perkins’ manager identified that their inpatient floor wasn’t in line with their bathing quota, Perkins went to work.  She said, “We as nurses use several different signs and magnets on our doors for various information about patients, and I thought that it would be smart to utilize another magnet that would be helpful to communicate the date of the patient’s last bath. 

“With my experience as a patient care technician before becoming an RN, I saw the value in making sure that each and every patient is bathed. I decided that I wanted to do something that would be creative and would capture attention, which is why I decided to go for the duck theme. Once we completed education on the project with the staff, the project itself took a little over a month to get up and running and is still being used over a year later,” she said.

Perkins credits the CSU College of Nursing for preparing her for her career with a well-rounded experience that included clinical rotations, simulations, hands-on lab experience, and research projects. “I wouldn’t have been able to complete what I have accomplished without the amazing support of my professors,” said Perkins.

She said the process of being named Nurse of the Year is run entirely by nursing services throughout the system. “It shows that my peers see me as a mentor, leader, and someone who is actively working to bring new knowledge and ideas to the field of nursing,” she said. Perkins looks forward to sharing her ideas with a national audience.

As American citizens, it is our duty, I believe, to take the time to remember them and hold them in our thoughts if even just for a few moments on this sacred day, and on this sacred ground. John F. Kennedy once said, “The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it.” And Tennesseans have always paid it. I’m a South Carolina girl, but I married a TN boy, and today, I want to share some statistics with you about the people just from TN who lost their lives in previous wars:

• approximately 3,000 Tennesseans died during the Civil War (1861-1865)
• approximately 3,400 died during WWI (1914-1918)
• approximately 7,500 died during WWII (1939-1945)
• approximately 900 died during the Korean War (1950-1953)
• 1,295 died during the Vietnam War (1955-1975)
• 158 died during the numerous Wars in the Middle East (1990-2021)

Those are a lot of numbers, but we know they are not just numbers. They are family members and friends whose legacy of duty, honor, and country live on in our hearts.

As a young person, I never imagined that I would have the privilege to serve my country. Despite growing up in a family of military service members (my grandfather, dad, and brother), I never considered that life for myself. I just wanted to graduate college and become a registered nurse.

But in 1987, my senior year at Clemson, I happened to walk by an Air Force nurse recruiter’s table at a student nurses association conference. As a senior nursing student about to be launched into the world of healthcare on my own, I was uncertain of my future. The Air Force recruiter told me about a 5-month internship for new graduate nurses that sounded interesting. Having never lived anywhere but South Carolina, I didn’t know if the Air Force was right for me. The internship required a competitive application process, so I wasn’t sure I would even get accepted, and truthfully, I was uncertain if military service was what I was called to do.

I can remember making a deal with God one night in my dorm room. My prayer went something like this: Lord, if you want me in the Air Force, I have three conditions. I don’t want to begin my service until the last week in July (you see, I already had a job at a children’s camp for the summer); I only want to go in if I get accepted into the medical-surgical nurse internship; and I only want to go in if I get my first choice of assignments, which was Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss. (near New Orleans). I went to bed after my conditions were laid out to God, thinking, “All three of those things will never happen.” That was one of my first lessons in never underestimating the power of God’s plan for my life! On July 29th, 1987, I was on my way to my first assignment-Keesler Air Force Base as a 2nd Lieutenant and a nurse intern in medical-surgical nursing.

I anticipated my stay in the Air Force to last a mere 3 years, after which I’d go back to what I’d originally planned for my life – working as an RN in a civilian hospital. They say that if you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans. I’m quite certain He did laugh, because sometime during that initial assignment, I realized that serving in the military was not about me or my plans. Rather, I felt called to a life of caring for those who were laying their lives on the line every single day for our country.

Through various assignments over 23 years, I learned what commitment, honor, integrity, duty, and service looked like. I saw these values in the faces of the servicemen and women I cared for. I discovered that the values I’d learned as a child, ingrained in me through people like you, found fertile ground in the soil of military life and became an inseparable part of my DNA.

I’ve often pondered what motivates other people to join the military. I realize that some had the military life thrust upon them through the draft, and were in a sense, “voluntold” to join up or else, while some voluntarily took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Yet when we put on the uniform, you can’t tell the difference between those two. It’s the same love for America that binds us together in solidarity and fuels our purpose to serve.

I retired from the Air Force in 2010, and I now have the opportunity to teach nursing students how to become RNs. One of the classes that I teach is nursing leadership, and it’s interesting to me that the “new” philosophy of leadership in business and healthcare is the servant leadership model–in other words, putting the needs of those we supervise ahead of our own needs.

This type of leadership is exactly what the military is founded upon; in fact, did you know that the word “sergeant” is derived from a French word for “servant?” I’m reminded of a Bible verse you may be familiar with: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13, NIV). While I was deployed to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom, I was privileged to care for service members who were injured in the line of duty. They could be flat on their backs with serious, life-threatening injuries, and the first questions they would ask me from their hospital bed were, “When can I get back to my unit? When can I get back to my buddies? I have to get back to the mission.”

This is what I would call uncommon valor.

My experience could be characterized in much the same way as the late entertainer, Bob Hope, recounted his experience during numerous USO tours: “I saw your sons and your husbands, your brothers and your sweethearts. I saw how they worked, played, fought, and lived. I saw some of them die. I saw more courage, more good humor in the face of discomfort, more love in an era of hate, and more devotion to duty than could exist under tyranny.”

Throughout my career, I met countless veterans whose courage and spirit inspired me to be a better officer. One of those veterans was Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii. I was assigned to his office during a special military assignment in 2005, and I learned of his service the Senator Inouye was a Japanese American, and just a 17 year-old boy when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941. He served as a medical volunteer caring for the wounded following the attack, and enlisted in the U. S. Army as soon as he was allowed.

His initial attempt to enlist in the Army was denied as he was enrolled in a premed college course with the hopes of becoming a physician. When he found out the reason for the denial of his enlistment, he withdrew from the course and was allowed to enlist. He lost his arm during a valiant fight against the Germans in which he showed incredible courage and was later awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Unable to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor, he later went to law school and served as a senator for 49 years. He taught me that it’s not only what you do as a military member, but how you later live that really counts.

Reflecting back on the “Happy Memorial Day” greeting from that grocery store cashier now, I wonder if my initial thoughts about him were too harsh.

As we consider Korean War Veteran, Howard William Osterkamp’s words, “All gave some, and some gave all,” I believe we have a duty to renew our personal commitment to serve.

If you are a veteran, or the family member of a veteran, I salute you and thank you for your service and your sacrifice. But even if you have never served in the military or have a family member or friend who served, I’d like to invite you today to be a patriot.

A patriot is someone who unashamedly loves, defends, and supports his or her country with devotion. It requires a fearless commitment to serving others in word and deed, and a responsibility to speak up in support of American values. If you truly want to honor those who gave all, then be a patriot, starting today.

As you think about the significance of Memorial Day, I hope that you will remember, celebrate, and commit yourselves to lives of service as patriots. I will leave you with the powerful words of a poem by Don Nielson, entitled, “To Them We Owe.”

Happened today, and in the past;
Sacrifice made, for ours to last.
Wives to widows, families torn;
Gave their lives, for them we mourn.
Gone forever, should are lost;
Freedom comes, with this cost.
Enjoy the life, the did preserve;
Fate they suffered, did not deserve.
On this day, lest we forget;
To them we owe, our life in debt.

Thank you, and may God bless you and may God bless the United States of America.

(Editor’s Note from The Daily Corinthian: This is the keynote speech given at Shiloh National Cemetery on Memorial Day. Lt. Col. Vicki Ball retired from the Air Force in 2010 following a 23-year career as an active duty Nurse Corps officer. Her previous assignments included tours of duty in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, California, Nevada, Washington, D.C. and Georgia.

In 2004, she deployed to Tallil Air Base, Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom where she served as the chief nurse of an Expeditionary Medical Group leading a team of nurses and medical technicians in caring for injured airmen, soldiers and civilians.

She earned her baccalaureate degree in nursing from Clemson University in 1987, a master’s degree in nursing from Florida State University in 1997 and a doctoral degree in educational leadership from Liberty University in 2017. She is currently an Associate Professor and the Dean of Nursing at ߣ�ѿ�Ƭ Southern University in ߣ�ѿ�Ƭ, S. C.)

Talking with Ms. McIntyre and Ms. Kiser, they truly put into picture the intensity of what nursing students endure and how two of these resources can help students be prepared. They highlighted that nursing students are not only preparing for real-world scenarios but many of their studies are focused on the NCLEX board exams. Being one of the biggest stressors for nursing students, the resources provided by CSU have assisted this past cohort in obtaining a 100% pass rate for this board exam. 

One of the new resources available is Florence’s Cozy Corner, located in Room 111 in D.P. Wingo Hall. This corner office has been organized and redesigned to give nursing students a quiet place of relaxation. Inside, students can find a massage chair, a bible, and an Alexa to help find physical and spiritual/mental relaxation, as well as inspiring decor centered around the lady who has pushed nursing into this new realm, Florence Nightingale. Ms. Kiser stated, “This isn’t a million-dollar space, but it makes you feel like it is a million-dollar space. It’s worth the feeling when you leave.” The room is a quiet area for students to come, decompress, and refocus back into the world. But also, there is an increase in nursing students who are mothers, and this space allows them to be with their children and breastfeed if necessary.

The next resource is Florence’s Closet located also in room 115, D.P. Wingo Hall. This idea first came about over the summer by Ms. McIntyre when she found extra scrubs lying around. Her vision was to help nursing students who needed pairs of scrubs, forgot it was a lab day, or would like extra so they were not paying out of pocket. One pair can cost upwards of $50 to $60 when buying new. Whether it was a financial burden or simply a forgetful day, Ms. McIntyre wants her students to be ready to learn not stressed. The closet is organized by size running from 2X-small to 3X-large with tall sizes to come. Students are encouraged to give them to Ms. McIntyre at the end of their senior year towards finals week. 

Becoming a nurse can be one of the most rewarding careers for a student, but also one of the most demanding. If you need any help or resources, please do not hesitate to reach out to Ms. McIntyre or Ms. Kiser so they can assist you in the best means.

Nursing Simulation 1129

Nursing Simulation 1129

Nursing Simulation 1129

Nursing Simulation 1129

Photos by Ty Cornett

What CSU program strives to provide care and healing to patients while simultaneously instilling Christianity? 

1. Nursing
2. Chaplaincy 
3. All the above

If you selected C, all the above, then you are correct. The chaplaincy and nursing programs at ߣ�ѿ�Ƭ Southern University share a common goal: provide care to those in need with Christianity at the forefront. Upon graduation, students from either of these programs are prepared for nursing and ministry work or pursuit of graduate degrees. However, unlike some other programs, the chaplaincy and nursing programs provide a unique opportunity for the two professions to collaborate. 

The collaboration is known as an observation. The observations are when a nursing student shadows a chaplain as they administer spiritual care to the patients dealing with medical hardships. This might include prayer, talking with the patient, being a listening ear, and overall being there for those that are going through medical hardships. 

Sara Crump, a second year nursing student, gives her personal perspective from her experiences observing the chaplains. “One of the things with CSU is they encourage us to talk to patients about this, even if it is uncomfortable,” she said. Crump also points out that the chaplains are not only there for the patients, but also for the nurses. “I love to see how the chaplains encourage the nurses as well. Especially with the nursing shortages.” 

Dr. Ronald Harvell, director of the Dewey Center for Chaplaincy at CSU, said, “One of our nursing students encountered a full-time chaplain at one of the hospitals. She was very surprised and inspired by the chaplain. The experience was so positive,” he said. “We have had nurses in our chaplaincy classes, and they have completed chaplaincy observations from their experiences during visits, including Roper hospitals.”

There are many parallels between the nursing and chaplaincy programs at CSU. One thing that chaplaincy observations teach the nursing students is to converse with their patients on a personal and spiritual level. This allows nurses to provide healing that goes beyond administering healthcare. Through the observation, these future healthcare providers learn to be a spiritual presence that uplifts patients who are in need. Being a nurse can oftentimes be a great challenge, and the human aspect could often be lost in the chaos of it all. An observation with a nurse and chaplain presents an opportunity to remind patients that they are doing God’s work through our nurses. 

ߣ�ѿ�Ƭ Southern University offers bachelor’s degrees in both chaplaincy and nursing programs. Nursing students also have the opportunity to pursue an MSN after completion of their BSN. CSU offers a traditional 4-year program for BSN as well as an accelerated 16-month program. 

Roper St. Francis is the official healthcare provider for ߣ�ѿ�Ƭ Southern University and provides convenient care to all full-time undergraduate and graduate students. Their facility is located on ߣ�ѿ�Ƭ, less than one mile from residential students on CSU’s campus.  

Although she has always been interested in medical missions, this summer provided her with a unique opportunity to share the Gospel while learning what hands-on compassion ministry looks like. 

This is how she described her experience:

“I was a nursing intern with Samaritan’s Purse & World Medical Mission working at Chogoria Mission Hospital. I lived on the hospital compound and was able to rotate through different specialties/areas in the hospital while working alongside Kenyan and American missionaries who were doctors and nurses. I got to practice many skills that I have learned in nursing school and see the differences between rural missionary medicine and what we would typically do in the U.S. I also spent a lot of time ministering to patients with the chaplains in the hospital’s chaplaincy program. I got to pray with nearly every patient in the hospital as they did their morning rounds and even led a devotional for the staff one day. I saw several patients give their lives to Christ and was able to present them with their first Bibles. On my days outside of the hospital, I worked with the homeschooled missionary and Kenyan kids that lived on the hospital compound. The hospital compound is a close-knit family! We held Bible study every Thursday night, and I was able to be mentored by several of the doctors and their wives while staying there all summer. And for fun, on the weekends when I had some free time, I was able to go on a safari and go hiking in Chogoria at Mt. Kenya (the second highest mountain in Africa!).”

Her motivation to go on a trip like this began with her mother, who is also a nurse and has participated in medical mission trips. McElheny said, “I see the profession of nursing as a calling to be the hands and feet of Jesus, so missionary medicine has always been on my mind. The Lord has also called us to ‘Declare His glory among the nations…’ (Psalm 96:3) so the combination of this biblical commission and my personal calling led me to medical mission work this summer. It was a great opportunity to see what life as a missionary would look like if I were to pursue more short-term or long-term trips in the future.”

As is often the case with trips like these, McElheny’s calling to nursing as a career was further solidified by her experience overseas. She said, “Over the summer, I learned just how much I love the profession of nursing and the act of caring for people at their most vulnerable moment. It really opened my eyes to how different healthcare is outside of the U.S. (not necessarily in a negative way). The people that I spoke to in the hospital were so happy to even have made it to the hospital. It was easy to share the Gospel with them because they saw it as a miracle to even be receiving the care that they were. 

“The Lord reminded me many times of the story in Mark 5 where the woman has been bleeding for years and has seen so many doctors, but Jesus heals her and says ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go and be freed from your suffering.’ There was true suffering in this hospital, but there was also great faith. Many of the patients proclaimed how it was the Lord who has been healing them. This experience over the summer showed me how doctors, nurses, and health professionals can treat, but it is the Lord who ultimately heals. I saw firsthand how the Lord can work through my profession to heal people, which was pretty amazing.”

Through this experience, McElheny’s eyes were opened to the great need for the Gospel all over the world. Her education as a nursing student as well as her understanding of the Gospel equipped her to serve others well and will continue to shape her future around the care of others. 

Dr. Vicki Ball’s specialty is teaching nursing leadership. When the position of interim dean of the CSU College of Nursing came available in January, she realized she needed to be willing to step out and lead.

She planned to go back to her role as director of the Master of Science in Nursing program once a dean was appointed, but God had other plans.

Officially named the dean effective July 1, Ball said she started to see how God could use the platform to have a bigger impact on the profession as a whole, on students, and on faculty.

Dr. Jackie Fish, vice president for academic affairs, said, “I am so grateful that God led Dr. Vicki Ball to accept our offer to lead the College of Nursing! Her deep belief in listening to God’s guidance as we serve our students brings a strong Christian leader to take CSU nursing students successfully through the challenging pursuit of a nursing degree. Dr. Ball’s former career in the Air Force, combined with her eight years at CSU, and her excellent academic and professional credentials ensure our students they are learning from extremely well-prepared nursing faculty.”

Ball’s experience includes 23 years of service in the U.S. Air Force as a nurse officer, and her assignments included Medical Operations Squadron Commander, Primary Care Flight Commander, Congressional Nurse Fellow, Deputy Director of Congressional and Public Affairs for the Office of the Air Force Surgeon General, Nurse Manager of inpatient and outpatient units, and clinical nurse in medical-surgical, oncology, multiservice, and emergency care units. Her service also included a tour of duty in Iraq in 2004. She retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2010.

Ball said, “I’ve tried very hard in my professional career and personal life to get a sense of where God was leading. I’ve tried not to do good things when He’s sitting over here with the great things.” She discovered she had a calling to teach and began her educator career at Macon State, now Middle Georgia State University.

In 2014 she accepted a position with the ߣ�ѿ�Ƭ Southern College of Nursing. In 2015 she became director of the MSN program which gave her the ability to impact students at the undergraduate and graduate level.

Ball said COVID showed the public what a demanding profession nursing is, physically and emotionally. She said nurses often feel undervalued. “Healthcare is a battlefield right now. We are preparing the next generation of healthcare warriors.”

One of her biggest goals for the College of Nursing is to give the nursing seniors tools for staying healthy mentally and physically. Developing resilience is particularly important and exposing students to as many clinical areas as possible.

Ball said, “We have good relationships with all the major hospitals. Our students get a unique experience with three big hospital systems in ߣ�ѿ�Ƭ, all with different types of missions, such as for-profit, research, and faith-based organizations.”

Training competitive students is Ball’s goal. “We’re looking at what sets up a student for success,” she said. “We want our admission criteria to be evidence-based. One interesting thing we are seeing is reading comprehension skills need to be high for nurses because they will do a lot of reading.”

Retaining faculty is a large part of Ball’s job as the dean. She said, “Nurses take a huge pay cut to teach. I work to help them find fulfillment. It is an opportunity to make an impact on the profession.”

Her plans as dean include creating a culture where faculty, staff, and students feel loved and valued. Ball said, “I never want a student to feel like they are just a letter grade.” She wants students and faculty to feel equipped for what they are called to do.

Ball holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Clemson University, a Master of Science in Nursing from Florida State University, and a Doctor of Education in educational leadership from Liberty University. She is a member of multiple professional organizations and has published articles with several publications.

Ball’s research interests include the use of escape room technology in education, the lived experiences of nurse educators with prior military careers, simulation in nursing education, and nursing public policy advocacy. She is a member of First Baptist Church of ߣ�ѿ�Ƭ where she serves on the safety committee and as a children’s AWANA teacher.