Getting ready for Student Nurse Political Action Day

Sarah Quick of Kankakee is preparing for her role at the Student Nursing Association Political Action Day in Springfield.

Along with completing her final semester of the registered nursing program at Kankakee Community College, Quick also serves as president for SNA of Illinois.

Quick graduated from Central High School in Clifton in 2013. After taking several classes at KCC, she left to find a full-time job. After enrolling—and leaving—college again in 2014, Quick returned to KCC for a third time in 2020. That time, she began work toward a registered nursing degree.

“I just had too much going on in life,” Quick said about her first two stints in college.

As a KCC nursing student, one Quick’s professors, Mary Kyrouac, invited her to the SNA of Illinois convention in 2022.

“Sarah is a very motivated student who is very interested in going beyond bedside nursing and really likes to be involved in the nursing profession on a larger scale,” Kyrouac said. “It is very rare to get a student this early on that is thinking about nursing on a state and national level. We are so proud to have a KCC student with this type of passion for nursing.”

Kyrouac is also a faculty adviser for the college’s SNA chapter.

At the convention in 2022, Quick decided to run to be on the board of directors and became the 1st vice president for the following year. In that role, Quick hosted the SNA of Illinois convention at Loyola University in Chicago in September 2023. At that event, she was elected as president of the organization for this year.

“My big thing this year is getting membership,” Quick said. “There was burnout from COVID, and people left bedside nursing. I’d like to help reignite their passion.”

Being active with SNA also means a lot of volunteer work, Quick said.

Along with other members of KCC’s SNA chapter, Quick has volunteered at the Alzheimer’s walk, suicide walk, Sleep in Heavenly Peace, St. Mary’s food pantry, reading nights at the Kankakee Public library, and for a kidney mobile.

SNA members also work with the American Nurses Association, go to fundraisers and a leadership conference, Quick said; adding that she has worked with the Red Cross and completed the Student Curriculum for American Red Cross Disaster Health Services.

As a board member, Quick networks and communicates with students at many other colleges and universities. They compare notes, and advocate for change where they see opportunities for improvement, she said.

“The SNA faculty advisors believe that SNA makes a difference with students because it helps them to understand why it is important to volunteer and give back to the community it serves,” Kyrouac said. “It also provides them with opportunities to see the nursing profession at the political level and hopefully to become active in shaping the future of the nursing profession and of future nurses. We strive to help students achieve the values of the Student Nurses Association of Illinois including professionalism, commitment, pride, respect and integrity.”

One of Quick’s next events will be to be a representative at the American Nurses Association of Illinois Student Nurse Political Action Day in Springfield on April 16.

“I’m looking forward to meeting nursing students like me from around the state and to interact with our legislators,” Quick said. “This is an important day for student nurses. We get a chance to talk with legislators about issues that we will face as professionals and that shape our day-to-day work lives.”

KCC’s two-year registered nursing program has a competitive entry process, and accepts new students each fall and spring semester. It incorporates classroom lectures, clinical experiences and lab demonstrations. The program is designed to prepare students for work in hospital departments, as well as in long-term care, home care, business and industry, outpatient clinics, public agencies, and physicians’ offices.

For information about entry requirements, consult with a KCC advisor or contact the program director, Kellee Hayes at khayes@kcc.edu or phone 815-802-8828.