“Branching Out” honors past and present African-American nurses during Black History Month. Student Resource Coordinator and 504/Title IX Coordinator LaKecia Dudley-Jenkins, Clinical Learning Lab Coordinator Dashanda Stanton, Clinical Learning Lab Tech Sandra Cole and Galen alumna Britney Polluck played key roles in the design of the exhibit, which stands tall in the Student Success Center at the Louisville campus.
Polluck and Cole brought the tree to life last year with a 3-D design concept. Other student volunteers provided background information about the various trailblazers.
The exhibit’s roots feature photos of the pioneers who have paved the way for African Americans to enter in the field of nursing. These historical figures include Mary Eliza Mahoney Mary E. Merritt, Adah Belle Samuel Thoms, Harriet Tubman, and Sojourner Truth.
The photos featured in the trunk, branches, and leaves include Kentucky leaders, notable figures and some Galen faculty in the nursing field. They include Hazel Johnson Brown, Betty Smith Williams, Dr. Beverly Malone, Dr. Vicki Hines-Martin, Dr. Eric J. Williams. Galen faculty: Gregory Frodge, Dashanda Stanton, Sandra Cole, Dakeisha Cook, Jacqueline Wilson, Tonya Newton, and Karla Hopkins.
The soil represents the herbal remedies and collaborative practices by Native-Americans used in slavery. Words such as motivation, tradition, survival, spirituality, sacrifice, determination, faith and necessity cascade down to the roots are symbolic to help the tree’s growth.
