Page 5 - SRNS_Today_February_2021

FEBRUARY 2021 | SRNS TODAY | 5
Life after College Night

Former scholarship winner

job shadows SRNS nurses

As a high school student in 2017, little did Kayla McElmurray realize
that winning a CSRA College Night scholarship would eventually lead to
a job shadowing assignment at SRS just a few years later.
Every year, SRNS organizes, manages and helps to sponsor CSRA
College Night. “I was at College Night with a church group and about
to leave, when I suddenly heard my name announced as a $1,000
scholarship winner,” said McElmurray. “And I thought ‘no way! No way
they just called my name out of all these people. This is crazy.’”
McElmurray has since used the scholarship to pursue a nursing degree
at the University of South Carolina Aiken ( UofSC Aiken) where she is
now a senior. Kayla recently spent two days observing and, at times,
assisting SRNS nurses at the SRS Medical Department.
“The College Night scholarship was such a blessing my first year at
UofSC Aiken,” she said. “It really made a difference.” Kayla McElmurray takes the vital signs of Paul Cloessner, Ph.D., SRNL
Laboratory Fellow.
To date, over $300,000 in scholarship funding has been offered
to those attending past College Nights. “The generosity of our
scholarship sponsors and help from more than 100 volunteers are
major reasons why this program is consistently successful each year Health Clinicals program where students are required to spend 90-
for local students like Kayla,” said Gladys Moore, CSRA College Night 100 hours shadowing nursing practices used within different local
Chairperson and SRNS employee. medical organizations.
Since 1993, more than 100,000 high school students, parents and The goal of nursing clinicals is to add to the student’s newly learned
educators from the greater Aiken-Augusta area have attended CSRA skills in a hands-on learning environment within a variety of practices,
College Night at the James Brown Arena in Augusta. Though the including women’s health, medical-surgical, pediatrics, psychiatric,
event was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a virtual community and occupational medicine.
version may be considered for 2021, if need be. SRNS has been hosting student nurses for years, providing them a
In order to complete the nursing program at UofSC Aiken, unique opportunity to experience occupational medicine at SRS
McElmurray is currently participating in the university’s Community medical facilities.

SRNS receives OpExChange Employee Development Award

OpExChange recently presented According to P.K. Hightower, SRNS Director, Interface Management and
SRNS with the 2020 Employee Continuous Improvement, SRNS received the award largely due to the
Development Award. efforts of Continuous Improvement employee Lisa Steed.
SRNS was recognized for “Lisa leads this effort for our organization, and she diligently takes
demonstrating an ongoing and the time to poll the SRNS community to ensure that employees who
exceptional commitment to are interested in virtual training sessions have an opportunity to learn
employee growth. without the associated training and travel cost,” said Hightower. “Our
OpExChange, a non-profit employees participate in classes, webinars and plant report-outs, the
South Carolina Manufacturing most of any company in South Carolina.”
Extension Partnership program, According to Steed, Continuous Improvement involves engagement and
is a peer-to-peer network of participation to create new attitudes and behaviors, which are especially
Lisa Steed companies in South Carolina needed during the pandemic. “OpExChange has done a tremendous
dedicated to learning and growing together. Member companies host job in coordinating opportunities for us to participate in virtually, and
events and share practical examples of industrial automation, lean it’s rewarding to have so many of our employees eager to learn and
manufacturing improvements and leadership development. expand their areas of knowledge,” said Steed.