Highlander Highlights: Week of May 29, 2023

Every two weeks, Highlander Highlights shares with readers some of the extraordinary research and work happening on campus through the tireless effort and curiosity of our students and faculty. This week, we have stories of a student selected to the Voting Honor Roll, a major endorsement for the Clinical Simulation Center and two student-athletes who are winning with their GPAs.

Making the (Voting) Honor Roll

Just before the spring semester ended, the ALL IN Democracy Challenge named Radford University student I'yonah Cartwright to its 2023 Student Voting Honor Roll.

The award honors students doing outstanding work to “advance nonpartisan democratic engagement” on their respective campuses, ALL IN said.

“I’yonah’s passion and commitment are what make her a great recipient of the Student Voting Honor Roll recognition,” said Chapman Rackaway, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Political Science. “From the moment we met, I could see that I’yonah wanted to be a leader for her fellow students in understanding the power of their vote and making sure they had the tools to use their vote.”

Cartwright tirelessly worked with students, faculty and the campus voter team to register students to vote and encourage them to follow through by voting. 

“Dozens of registration table drives, class visits and online engagements later, we were recognized as a Voter Friendly Campus,” Rackaway explained. “Much of that success is due to I’yonah’s excellent work. The Honor Roll recognition is incredibly well-deserved.”

Major endorsement for CSC

Radford University’s Clinical Simulation Center recently received a major endorsement from the International Nursing Association for Clinical and Simulation Learning (INACSL).

The endorsement covers four core standards – pre-briefing, debriefing, facilitation and professional integrity – and is valid for three years.

The Clinical Simulation Center – with locations on main campus and at the Roanoke Higher Education Center – provides nursing students with advanced simulators, standardized patients, haptic devices and authentic medical equipment and supplies that can be implemented into various learning experiences.

“The Radford University Clinical Simulation Center is proud to be recognized for our commitment to excellence when providing high-quality, clinical simulation learning experiences for all of our nursing students as well as other healthcare students in Waldron College,” said CSC Executive Director Christina Keller. “Students consistently rate their clinical simulation activities as meaningful and effective learning experiences. The CSC team strives to continue that reputation not just for recognition sake, but for training competent and safe healthcare providers in our community and beyond.”

INACSL is an organization dedicated to advancing the science of healthcare simulation.

Student-athletes score prestigious academic awards

Two Radford University student-athletes recently were awarded the Big South Conference’s George A. Christenberry Award for Academic Excellence.

The prestigious award is given by the conference each year to male and female student-athletes who attain the highest GPA during their undergraduate collegiate careers. Radford women’s tennis player Ameek Batth and men’s cross-country runner Adam Downs were two of this year’s eight recipients.

Batth, a media studies major from Bhubaneswar, India, and Downs, a Riner, Virginia, native who majors in cybersecurity and mathematics, each earned a 4.0 GPA.