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Students in the new nursing program: “Hands and feet of Christ”

Some nursing students, and nursing faculty and staff were recent guests of CIU President Dr. Mark A. Smith (left) and his wife Debbie (right).

October 26, 2022

By Bob Holmes

The new Columbia International University nursing program is off to a solid start this school year with 41 students.

As the first semester begins to draw to a close, the students in the traditional Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program are testifying as to how God led them into the program and why they are pursing a nursing career.

Jeremy See, who is originally from Ohio, served over two decades in the Air Force as an active-duty intelligence analyst, but wanted a change in career.

“I was actually targeting people and sending guys to go take care of them — to kill or capture,” See said about his role in the military. “But I decided when I retired I wanted to spend the next 20 years instead of taking life, giving life — healing — my next appropriate step.”

Megan Pifer appreciates that at CIU, she is learning nursing from a biblical worldview at a university that also has World Evangelization as a core value.

“Having these tools to train people go into places as the hands and feet of Christ, and to really serve, love and care in a truly tangible way — it’s really neat to learn from that worldview, and to put that into practice in a real way,” Pifer said.

CIU’s online RN to BSN program is also well underway. Among the students is Annabelle Clinton. Learn more from her:  “A really great feeling” — Columbia nurse discusses her CIU online RN to BSN experience.”

The director of CIU Nursing, Dr. Jill McElheny, says CIU’s program is especially needed because of a critical nursing shortage in South Carolina and around the nation.

See more on CIU Nursing and Biomedical Science in this news feature: "Columbia International University helping to combat hospital staffing shortages." 

CIU consistently ranks among the Top Regional Universities in the South by U.S. News & World Report, as well as a Best Value Regional University in the South. Apply now or request information on enrollment by contacting Admissions at (803) 807-5024 or admissions@ciu.edu.     

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