Editor’s Note: This profile is the second of six stories about students and alumni leading up to LovEMU Giving Day on April 2. For more information about the day and how to donate, visit: love.emu.edu
Olivia Beiler ’23 got an early start in nursing.
At an age when most kids dread the sight of needles, the eight-year-old from Chester County in Southeastern Pennsylvania was giving out flu shots. Every year around Thanksgiving, her grandfather, the late Dr. John Rutt ’59, would immunize their whole family and offer his arm to her for practice.
“Whenever he would give me a flu shot, I would give him one, too,” she said. “It became a yearly tradition.”
Beiler, now a registered nurse at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center’s Pauley Heart Center, is following in the footsteps of her beloved grandfather. At the Richmond-based hospital, she cares for patients with a wide range of cardiovascular concerns, from those recovering from heart transplant surgery to those with arrhythmias.
She said EMU’s nationally-accredited nursing program, aided by its small class sizes, prepared her well by giving her experience in all kinds of clinical settings, including in an OB/GYN unit, an operating room, and alongside a nurse anesthetist in a dentist’s office. That’s something that isn’t done at many larger nursing schools.
“EMU’s amazing nursing program encouraged us to immerse ourselves in our experiences and do as much as we could,” Beiler said. “EMU boosted my confidence in working with patients and helped me to understand the different roles within nursing.”
Last summer, at the end of her first year on the job, Beiler was recognized for her commitment to care with the New Grad of the Year Award for Nursing Excellence, voted on by the nurses and care techs in her unit. “That was a huge honor,” she said. “It was very affirming in the work I’m doing.”
Before arriving on campus in 2019, Beiler knew all about EMU. In addition to her grandfather, her grandmother, Rebecca Hartzler Rutt ’59 (a niece of the library’s namesake, Sadie Hartzler), graduated from Eastern Mennonite. But, having grown up Mennonite and attending Lancaster Mennonite School, her mind was set on studying elsewhere. “I’m going to do something different,” she recalled thinking.
Ultimately, EMU’s nursing program proved too promising to ignore. She had been searching for a school with smaller class sizes and hands-on experience that wasn’t ultra-competitive like some other programs. “I knew how amazing the program was,” she said. “It felt like the right decision, and once I made that choice, I felt at peace, knowing EMU was 100 percent where I was supposed to be.”
Beiler said that receiving the EMU Academic Achievement Scholarship also helped seal her decision to come to EMU. It’s scholarships like this one and the financial aid packages given to 100 percent of undergraduate EMU students that empower them to pursue a quality college education without financial barriers. “Being able to go to a university where you’re able to get that financial support right off the bat allows you to be more integrated in your program and definitely helps with some of that financial stress,” Beiler said.
Recently, she has taken a nursing student under her wing through VCU’s preceptorship program. She said she’s excited to teach her student all the lessons she learned as a young RN and share her passion for nursing. “I’ve always been someone who loves to care for people,” she said.
Your generous support helps students like Beiler pursue a quality college education without financial barriers. Join us for the 9th annual LovEMU Giving Day and contribute to the scholarships that empower future EMU students. Together, we can help write EMU’s next chapter.
Read the previous profiles in our A Royal Tale series:
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