lauren speck, BSN

I met Lauren in the summer semester of 2013 when she enrolled in the nursing research course in the BSN program at the University of TN-College of Nursing. As an honors student, she took the course a full year earlier than what is required for the nursing curriculum. She was a very engaged student and an active learner, enthusiastically contributing to class with a good attitude and lots of questions. I was astonished at what she accomplished and her level of skill in doing so. Lauren has continued on this stellar path, developing a project entitled, "Parental Perception and Acceptability of the Human Papillomavirus Vaccine for Sons in Southern Appalachia." She employed a qualitative descriptive approach to interview parental dyads for her project; something which has never been done. She received a highly-coveted undergraduate summer research internship in 2014. Lauren is always respectful, comprehensive, and appropriate when communicating verbally and in writing. I am so impressed by her ability to network with others and to care for patients. Further, when work becomes challenging, she is more and more determined to master it. What I truly love the most about Lauren is her raw curiosity about almost everything, it is absolutely endearing.