Heritage University nursing program director receives 2023 Nurse Educator Award from Washington State Nurses Association

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Heritage University nursing program director receives 2023 Nurse Educator Award from Washington State Nurses Association

 

Toppenish, Wash. – Heritage University nursing program director Christina Nyirati, Ph.D., was recently recognized for her work in bringing nursing education to under-represented populations. Nyirati was awarded the 2023 Nurse Educator Award by the Washington State Nurses Association during its convention in May.

The award is given every two years to a member who has demonstrated excellence in nursing education through evidence-based, innovative, and inspirational methods that incorporate principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Dr. Nyirati founded the BSN program at Heritage University in 2014 with the mission to advance the health of multicultural families and communities in rural environments through excellence in nursing education, service, practice, and community-based research.

“I have worked with students who come to me and say I want to be a nurse, but they had been told by their high school guidance counselor they couldn’t be a nurse because they didn’t start speaking English until they were 7, 9, or 11 years old, and they didn’t have access to college prep courses,” said Nyirati in her acceptance speech. “Most of our students have been denied admission to as many as three nursing schools.”

The school has now graduated 80 highly capable and motivated nurses from rural communities who understand their communities.

“She has shaped the nursing program’s emphasis on cultural inclusivity with particular sensitivity to the Native communities from which it draws many of its students,” said Judy Huntington, MN, RN, who nominated Nyirati. Huntington served as WSNA executive director for nearly 19 years.

Heritage University President Andrew Sund, Ph.D. said that Dr Nyirati is truly deserving of this recognition from the WSNA. “Dr. Nyirati has dedicated her career to the exceptional education of nurses and to the elevation of the nursing profession to the highest standards. Her dedication to preparing health care professionals that serve their communities with the highest level of care possible is extraordinary.”

The WSNA Recognition Awards are made biennially in celebration of individuals who have made substantial contributions in nursing practice, leadership, education, and research. Nyirati was one of 10 individuals recognized at this year’s event. WSNA is the statewide association for the 110,000 nurses in Washington state and has been at the forefront of nursing advancements since it was founded in 1908.

For more information, contact Davidson Mance at (509) 969-6084 or Mance_D@Heritage.edu.

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Star of children’s book written by second graders is now a learning ambassador for children in the Yakima Valley

Toppenish, Wash. – Houdini Was is a story about a classroom pet hamster written by a second-grade class at White Bluff Elementary School in Richland, Wash. The class entered the story into a contest by Scholastic Books called the Scholastic National Challenge in 2010, and their book won first place over more than 2,000 entries nationwide. Fast forward to 2023, Yakima Valley Partners for Education (YVPE) and its partners are bringing Houdini to the children of the Yakima Valley as a learning ambassador. On June 15, the teacher whose class at White Bluff Elementary wrote the story, Christan Conners, and one of her students from that year, Lily Ferguson, read Houdini Was to children at the Heritage University Early Learning Center. Afterwards, Houdini, a costumed mascot, appeared and posed for pictures with the children.

YVPE director Suzy Diaz said longtime Heritage University benefactors Ken and Sharon Smith of Yakima, Wash. became interested in YVPE’s literacy efforts and wanted to help. The Smiths, parents of Christan Conners, purchased the publishing rights to Houdini Was, had 500 copies printed, and are now making the book available to schools and organizations in the Yakima Valley.

YVPE’s partners think Houdini will be a “hamster-iffic” learning ambassador.

“The ESD is thrilled to be joining with other community partners in the Houdini project,” said Educational Service District 105 Director Shane Backlund. We’re looking forward to supporting Houdini’s mission of serving as a learning ambassador throughout our region, and we can’t wait to get started with this partnership.”

“Houdini’s journey from a class pet to a symbol of resilience touched the hearts of young minds. In their words and art, Houdini becomes a beacon of hope,” said Humberto Rodriguez, CEO of United Family Center. “The Smith family’s dedication to sharing this story nurtures healing, reminding us that even in grief we find the power to create light.”

“Early literacy helps children develop a rich vocabulary, self-expression, and reading comprehension and promotes life-long learning,” said Vanessa Frias, director of Parents as Teachers at Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic (YVFWC). “These skills prepare children for school by encouraging a love for books and an eagerness to learn. Our organization is happy to support Houdini.”

For more information, please contact Suzy Diaz at (509) 480-9354 or Diaz_S@heritage.edu or Davidson Mance at (509) 969-6084 or Mance_D@heritage.edu.

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Law school pipeline program in central Washington to kick off second year at Heritage University

Toppenish, Wash. – A program to boost the numbers of people of color serving as lawyers in central Washington is about to begin its second year at Heritage University. The program, funded by a grant from the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) Prelaw Undergraduate Scholars (PLUS) Program, is an innovative partnership between the law schools at Seattle University, the University of Washington and Gonzaga University, and Heritage with the goal of making a law degree more accessible to diverse students, especially Latino and Indigenous students.

To teach specific program topics, the program will host highly acclaimed lawyers, judges, and legal professionals from across Washington state, including:

Stephen C. Gonzalez – chief justice, Washington State Supreme Court
Mary Yu – justice, Washington State Supreme Court
Sonia Rodriguez-True – Yakima County Superior Court
Cesar Torres – Northwest Justice Project Executive Director
Lola Velazquez – attorney, Northwest Justice Project
Derek Red Arrow Frank (Nez Perce) – associate, Stokes Lawrence PLLC
Marta Sandoval – general council, Continental Mills, Inc.
Tony Varona – dean, Seattle University School of Law
Tamara Lawson – dean, University of Washington School of Law

The LSAC PLUS Program kicks off a three-week session on Friday, June 16, 2023, with in-person classes at Heritage three days a week. The program will expand the students’ knowledge and understanding of the legal field. Some of the activities in store for the students include: 1) a mock first-year law student class and mock clinic class; 2) sessions dedicated to explaining the law school admissions process led by admissions staff of each of the three law schools in Washington; 3) seminars preparing students for the Law School Admissions Test as well as drafting personal statements and resumes; 4) a visit to Yakima County Superior Court to observe a mock trial exercise and meet with judges; and 5) individualized law school admissions counseling sessions provided by Washington’s law schools admissions departments. Each LSAC PLUS scholar is paired with a mentor attorney for the duration of the program.

By the end of the program, students will have a better understanding of what it takes to apply to and become accepted by a law school, thrive as a law student, and ultimately a career as a lawyer. Students will make valuable connections with diverse attorneys and judges in their community who are invested in their future success.

Bree R. Black Horse, an enrolled member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and an attorney with the law firm of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton in Seattle, is the director of the LSAC PLUS Program at Heritage this year. “This program is vital to achieving the full integration of lawyers from historically excluded and underrepresented communities in our legal system, and to address the critical attorney shortage currently facing central Washington,” said Black Horse. “I am honored to have the opportunity to serve the next generation of legal professionals in the Yakima Valley.”

Kimberley Bellamy-Thompson, chair of the Social Science department at Heritage, is excited over the response to Heritage and its partners once again offering the LSAC PLUS Program. “We are honored to help central Washington students envision themselves serving their community as lawyers,” said Bellamy-Thompson. “There certainly is demand for this opportunity, as we have a full cohort of 30 and a long waitlist of students hoping to be part of the program.”

Media are invited to report on the first day of the LSAC PLUS Program, with opportunities to interview students, instructors, and program coordinators. For more information, please contact:

Bree R. Black Horse at (206) 735-0448 or Blackhorse_B@heritage.edu.
Kimberly Bellamy-Thompson at (509) 952-7288 or Bellamy-Thompson_K@heritage.edu.
Davidson Mance, Heritage University media relations coordinator, at (509) 969-6084 or Mance_D@Heritage.edu.

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Heritage University receives $6 million grant to start a Master’s in Mental Health Counseling degree program

Toppenish, Wash. – Heritage University has been awarded a $6 million, five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education to launch a Master’s in Mental Health Counseling (MMHC) program at Heritage. This initiative, known as the “Heritage University Consortium,” seeks to address the unprecedented mental health crisis that small, rural communities like the Yakama Indian Reservation and the Yakima Valley are facing. The program will train graduates to serve as mental health counselors for schools that are most in need.

Partners of the Heritage University Consortium include the Yakama Indian Nation and Educational Service District (ESD) 105 in Yakima, Wash. and will adopt a “grow-your-own” approach that recruits hard-to-reach populations from local high schools into Heritage University’s undergraduate Bachelor of Psychology and then into the soon-to-be MMHC graduate program. Graduates of the program will be eligible to serve as Licensed Mental Health Counselor-Associates in Washington state and will also qualify as Substance Use Disorder Professional Trainees.

Amy Nusbaum, Ph.D., Chair of the Psychology Department at Heritage, said the Yakama Nation and Yakima Valley schools who will benefit from this grant, have large numbers of students who suffer from the lack of adequate mental health counseling, which can lead to large academic achievement gaps. Dr. Nusbaum said research shows that students of color learn faster when they are not facing social, emotional, or mental health issues. “Our proposed solution is to create a new and innovative partnership that will address the urgent mental health needs that adversely impact the learning and well-being of the diverse students in our community,” said Dr. Nusbaum. “It will streamline and accelerate the outreach, recruitment and training of diverse mental health counselors, and we know that having a counselor that looks like you and is from a similar background increases the chances of therapeutic success.”

Nusbaum also says graduates may serve the general population by working in places such as Comprehensive Healthcare and Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic, for example. “These innovative approaches capitalize on this unique opportunity to begin to solve our problem of shortages of local mental health professionals in our schools and communities,” Dr. Nusbaum said.

Enrollment for the MMHC program will begin next spring once accreditation is received, with classes starting in the fall of 2024. For more information contact Amy Nusbaum at nusbaum_a@heritage.edu. For help with securing interviews please contact Davidson Mance at mance_d@heritage.edu or (509) 969-6084.

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Noted Seattle lawyer starts scholarship to help Native American and Latinx students at Heritage University pursue law degrees.

Toppenish, Wash. – Arthur Dean Swanson, a Seattle-based lawyer, well respected in the state of Washington and throughout the United States, recently started a scholarship program at Heritage University to help Native American and Latinx students who plan to earn a law degree after graduation.

In the summer of 2022, a partnership between Washington’s three law schools, Seattle University School of Law, University of Washington School of Law, and Gonzaga University School of Law, and Heritage provided a 13-week course designed to make a law degree more accessible to Native American and Latinx students in central Washington. Titled the “Law School Admission Council Prelaw Undergraduate Scholars Program,” or LSAC PLUS Program and funded by the Law School Admission Council, it prepares students for the rigors of law school and a legal career. Mr. Swanson read about the LSAC PLUS Program in The Seattle Times and was inspired to start the scholarship with a $100,000 gift to Heritage. The scholarship will be awarded annually to a rising senior who plans to pursue a Juris Doctorate after graduation.

Mr. Swanson passed away in January, and now, his family is honoring his wishes by announcing the Arthur D. Swanson Scholarship at Heritage University. “When Arthur and I first started discussing how he could best support students, he related to me stories of his young life and law school experiences,” said David Wise, Heritage University VP of External Relations. “Those, coupled with his travels as a young man across several Indian reservations, convinced him of the nearly insurmountable odds students living on reservations have of earning a law degree. Students with very little frame of reference for the rigors of law school, let alone the financial resources to begin even exploring the possibility,” said Wise. “His resolve to shorten those odds resulted in the formation of this scholarship. He was so passionate about giving students the opportunity to become lawyers. We had plans for him to guest lecture on campus this coming summer. His passing is a crushing loss for all of us.”

Swanson was born April 19, 1934, in Onida, South Dakota, and his family moved to Long Beach, Washington. Art and his brother Don attended Valley High School in Menlo in Pacific County, Washington. Swanson graduated from Washington State University in 1956 after which he joined the United States Army. In 1963, he graduated from the University of Washington School of Law. He later served as a deputy prosecuting attorney in the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s office and as a Judge Pro-Tem in both Superior and District courts before opening his own practice. He was a past president for the Washington State Association for Justice, the Washington Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates, and the Damage Attorneys Roundtable.

During his distinguished career, Swanson was a member of The American College of Trial Lawyers and has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America since 1991. He has been named a Washington Super Lawyer every year since 2003 and by Seattle Metropolitan magazine as one of Seattle’s Best Lawyers.

Mr. Swanson passed away on January 29, 2023, before the launch of the scholarship in his name. The Arthur D. Swanson Scholarship at Heritage University is open to additional contributions by visiting heritage.edu/donate, or by making a gift to the Office of Advancement at Heritage University, 3240 Fort Road, Toppenish, WA, 98948. The Arthur D. Swanson Scholarship will be awarded annually to Native American and/or Latinx senior-level students at the University who intend to pursue a law degree after graduation.

For more information, contact David Wise at wise_d@heritage.edu or (414) 788-0686.

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