ANSA and President Sujita Shrestha Undeterred by Pandemic

Sujita “Suzzy” Shrestha attends classes full-time at The University of Texas at Arlington in the bachelor of science in nursing program, works part-time, and also currently serves as the 2020-2021 Arlington Nursing Students' Association (ANSA) president. Under her guidance, the chapter also has not let COVID-19 set them back, as they remain committed to volunteerism, education and networking.

“When I became president, COVID-19 happened, and everything we had planned got changed. We switched to online for our meetings, are finding other ways to get service hours through bone marrow donation drives and try to stay connected as a group on Microsoft Teams,” shares Shrestha.

ANSA currently has over 160 members and is comprised of pre-nursing and nursing students. Becoming a member also provides many benefits through the national membership with the National Student Nurses’ Association, like career planning opportunities, discounts, scholarship opportunities and more.

“I joined ANSA in 2018 when I was pre-nursing. It is more than two years later now and I haven’t regretted one day. Life is hectic, but it is worth it to be in ANSA. As president, I’m learning a lot of things, delegating a lot of tasks, and doing a lot of work,” shared Shrestha.

One of their biggest volunteer efforts this year has been through partnering with DKMS, an organization dedicated to “deleting blood cancer.” ANSA members can pick up a bone marrow swab kit, and then swab around 12 people, typically family and friends, and send the kit back. The swabs then get tested and placed into a database, in case one of the individuals becomes a bone marrow donor match.

“This volunteer work is very forward-thinking; it could be 10 years or longer that someone that is a match may need a donor. Part of our mission is service work in the community, and we are happy to continue this volunteer work, even if it’s a bit harder during the pandemic,” said Shrestha.  Shrestha is an international student from Nepal, who after a major earthquake in 2015 struck the country, knew she wanted to be able to help people.

Students interested in joining ANSA can join the Teams group for a trial period (using code SVPVPR3) or they can email ansa.uta.nursing@gmail.com with questions.

The Arlington Nursing Students' Association (ANSA) is the local chapter of the National Student Nurses' Association (NSNA), a national organization of student nurses that provides a gateway to professional nursing organizations. Learn more on their website.