Nursing students win innovation awards

Aurora Vandewark was honored for her spirirt of inquiry and service.

Aurora received the ICE Award -- a trophy and $1,000 prize—for her excellent academic achievements and her service and community activities. She has demonstrated her leadership abilities, as well as a dedication to service, through the positions that she has held as chair and committee member of the Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, as delegate to the state convention of the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association, as secretary/treasurer of Nursing without Borders, as philanthropy co-chair and webmaster of Chi Omega Women's Fraternity and as dramaturge and costumer for the Villanova Student Musical Theatre. 

Aurora will graduate with, not only a degree in nursing, but also a minor in French Language and Literature and an Honors concentration.  She has an inquisitive spirit and a penchant for inquiry into questions about how to improve health and health care for the persons for whom she provides care.  One area that interested her was the effect of the chemical BPA on children.  Her exploration of this topic led to a publication as a co-author with one of her professors in a clinical journal outlining the risks of exposure to the chemical to children.

Mary and Scott, who met in freshman orientation, won a trophy and $5000 prize for Bunkalow. They describe their product as “the only covering designed for college students, performing as a multi-functional curtain to hide the mess underneath one’s bed, or to cover the bottom bunk to give roommates much-needed privacy. We seek to provide an affordable, aesthetic, and useful product to small-space dwellers.”