Graduate Spotlight: Mother’s hospitalization following accident, mentors inspire Shah to pursue nursing career
Shah says time at Lipscomb has prepared her to pursue her calling to serve others
Kim Chaudoin |
As graduation approaches, Lipscomb University senior Zoe Shah is eagerly anticipating receiving her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree this May.
A native of Los Gatos, California, Shah’s passion for nursing was ignited during high school, particularly when her mother suffered a serious accident, requiring extensive hospital care.
“My mentor in high school was a nurse and I wanted to be just like her,” explains Shah. “Later during my time in high school, my mom had a bad accident resulting in her being in and out of the hospital. In that place, I got to see nurses care for my mom. Then, I got to be like a nurse at home for my mom.”
That experience along with the encouragement of others who believed she had the personality for a career in nursing inspired her to pursue a nursing degree. The decision to attend Lipscomb was influenced by her mother, an alumna of the university, but solidified during a campus visit. "I wasn't going to let this factor alone determine my decision. But when I came for a campus visit, I wanted to become like the people I saw around me, the students and faculty. When I met people like Dr. Chelsia Harris, the executive director of the School of Nursing, and felt the community environment, I knew I wanted to be a part of it," she recalls.
Shah, far right, with a Guatemala medical mission team.
Shah quickly became deeply involved in campus activities and her academic pursuits. Through her nursing coursework and clinical experiences, she became even more convinced that nursing was her calling.
“Through these experiences my heart for nursing has been confirmed as I have developed my ‘why’ for nursing,” she shares. “As nurses, we participate in healing through medicine. We also heal with compassion where medicine can't.”
During her four years at Lipscomb, she has flourished as she has been involved in the IDEAL program, worked as a resident assistant in Fanning Hall, lead a hip-hop fitness class in the Student Activities Center, performed with Lipscomb’s Gospel Choir, was a member of the Presidential Ambassadors Council for two years, participated in the Student Scholars Symposium and was part of medical missions to Baja Mexico, Malawi and Guatemala and just about anything else happening on campus.
“My Lipscomb experience has been full of community. My biggest problem at Lipscomb has been having too many good opportunities to choose between,” she admits with a smile. “With each opportunity and especially through nursing school, I have discovered where my giftings and passions meet the needs of the world.”
Shah, far right, on a summer travel study excursion to the Holy Land.
From founding the Bison Skaters club and the Nurses Christian Fellowship to participating in medical missions abroad, she has actively sought roles where her passions and skills could meet the world’s needs. "My time here has been full of 'third space' communities — places where Christ dwells and meets people," she shared.
Shah also helped start two clubs on campus — Nurses Christian Fellowship and Bison Skaters. Her freshman year, she discovered a love for roller skating and she discovered many other “secret” skaters on campus. She worked with the Office of Student Life to start the Bison Skaters club her sophomore year and now the group meets everyone on campus to skate together.
“I was just talking to a friend the other day about how this club has felt like what is called a ‘third space’ — a place of ordinary, invitational community that is a place where Christ dwells and meets people,” she explains. “I could tell countless stories of the ways God has connected people for His beautiful purposes through this club. My Lipscomb time has been full of third space communities.”
She says a number of people have inspired her while at Lipscomb. One, in particular, is Jennifer Hicks, instructor in nursing. “These past two weeks alone, I have probably spent about 20 minutes — sometimes two hours — in her office everyday. We might be talking about Nurses Christian Fellowship as we host our gatherings at her house, my future nursing career, her abounding nursing knowledge, the hardship of family life, or just a silly conversation, but whatever we talk about, I feel absolutely poured into and inspired,” explains Shah. “We most recently traveled to Guatemala on a medical mission together, and she is truly the definition of building up your treasures in Heaven in the way that she seeks the Kingdom of God first.
Shah, center, during nursing clinicals.
“The night before my big job interview, I was on the phone with her going through some interview questions and just listening to her pour into me as we sought God's peace and will,” she continues. “I know that I will always have Mrs. Hicks in my life!”
Shah’s post-graduation plans include working at Vanderbilt Medical Center's Pediatric Hematology/Oncology unit, being actively involved in her church community, learning Spanish, and working at Siloam Health Clinic. She hopes to return to Lipscomb “to pour into the spiritual lives of nursing majors in whatever way I can,” she says.
Though Shah is eager to begin her career, reaching the end of her undergraduate journey at Lipscomb is bittersweet. “In one sense, it's the end of a great chapter. In another sense, it's only the beginning of this great journey of life,” she says. “As I reflect on my time, I see how beautifully I've been prepared to become a skilled, thriving nurse for God's Kingdom.”
“In my time at Lipscomb, I've discovered what type of nurse I want to be, found a beautiful church community, grown in my faith so much and found lifelong friends,” Shah concludes. “In many ways, these things will not end, and I will get to live into them even more now that I'm graduating. I am so grateful for my time at Lipscomb!”