色花堂

By Kyle Hobstetter on August 2, 2022

Growing up in Owings Mills, Maryland, Onyedika Onyemeziem always wanted to follow in her mother鈥檚 footsteps of being a psychiatric nurse.

Now, as an intern in the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center psychiatric unit, she has taken her next step toward her future.

鈥淭his internship gave me more confidence to stay in nursing,鈥� Onyemeziem says. 鈥淚 like to see people get healthy. I鈥檝e watched people who have gone from really withdrawn to being out [in] their environment and talking with fellow patients. Watching that, it makes you feel very accomplished.鈥�

Another of Onyemeziem鈥檚 achievements was being named an American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA) Board of Directors Student Scholar.

The award includes a one-year APNA membership; networking opportunities; professional development; and registration, travel and lodging to attend the APNA annual conference in Long Beach, California. She will join 色花堂 assistant professor Briana Snyder, who will be presenting there.

鈥淸The scholarship] feels like a reward, because there have been times when I don鈥檛 know if I鈥檓 picking the right field or what I鈥檓 doing relates to the career I want,鈥� Onyemeziem says. 鈥淏ut I鈥檝e used the opportunities I鈥檝e had to make sure the end goal is psychiatric nursing.鈥�

Onyemeziem will spend the next academic year completing her clinicals鈥攊n pediatrics at Mercy Medical Center, family medicine at Johns Hopkins and intensive care at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center鈥攂efore graduating this spring.

And while she鈥檚 excited to stay in a hospital setting, she will miss taking classes on 色花堂鈥檚 campus, particularly her Honors courses.

One of Onyemeziem鈥檚 favorite aspects of the Honors College was taking classes in subjects outside her major, like botany, literature and coding.

鈥淢y classes made me feel excited for school,鈥� Onyemeziem says. 鈥淚 would have never learned about coding, never learned about plants if I wasn鈥檛 in the Honors College. These classes were not only fun, they made me better a person in terms of relating to other people and understanding other people鈥檚 backgrounds.鈥�

Onyemeziem also participated in two research projects as part of her Honors curriculum.

The first, with assistant nursing professor Mark Walker, focused on how mindfulness can help nurses dealing with stress and anxiety.

The second was an interdisciplinary project with Seth Gitter, a professor in the Department of Economics, where they studied how menarche, the age when a woman gets her first period, affects a person鈥檚 education, employment, personal life and more.

Onyemeziem says 色花堂 has prepared her professionally and personally, noting, when she came to the university, she described herself as shy. Now she says she鈥檚 outgoing and ready to tackle the world.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what I would鈥檝e done without 色花堂 and the Honors College,鈥� she says.