This year's honoree was nominated by three different alumni. Alumni #1 - Ms. Cuchens was not only an amazing teacher, but also an amazing individual. She touched our class with her personal stories and her warmth. She made learning interesting and fun, but also made everything hit home with her experiences and knowledge. She was respectful to everyone, had wonderful interpersonal skills with students, faculty, patients, and other nurses on the floor, was very enthusiastic in the classroom and in clinical, and inspired and motivated all of us to be likewise with everyone we came into contact with. Ms. Cuchens is, in my opinion, a one-of-a-kind individual and someone that all teachers, nurses, and people in general should try to emulate. If everyone were as kind-hearted and friendly as her, the world would be a much better place to live in. Alumni #2 - "Nan is an excellent nurse & instructor. She is kind, compassionate, enthusiastic & intelligent. She inspires her students to put forth their best efforts. Her students from through the years have stayed in touch with her. She is calm, cool & collected which helps her students to be the same. Nan helped me find my way into Nursing School at TCC when I first met her working in the ER back in the 1980s as a flex nurse during her summer break. She again helped motivate me in the 1990s to get my BSN at FSU as my nurse manager at TMH. She has been my nursing idol for many years. She has again inspired me & her students by coming back to work in the ER to keep her skills up & show her credibility as a nurse. Every one of us is impressed at how she stepped right back into the role of the bedside nurse. Her patients also appreciate her caring & skill. Nan is patient, kind & intelligent. Her confidence is obvious & rubs off on her working colleagues, her patients & her students. She works well with all & is very easy to get along with. Nan listens to what you say & lets you know that she cares about what you have to say. She makes everyone feel like they matter. Nan is very deserving of this award!" Alumni #3 - Nan Cuchens has always put students first. As advisor to the Student Nurses Association, Nan had dedicated countless hours to planning and traveling with her students to conventions around the country. In addition to the time she shares, Nan gets to know all of her students on a personal level. She is as much of a teacher as she is a friend to everyone at the College of Nursing. Unlike in other majors, it is crucial for nursing professors to be mentors in the classroom and in the hospital. Nan is an exemplary example of an educator and mentor who loves her students. I have seen her at work in various settings, and admire Nan's genuine character and representation of what it really means to be a nurse. She is compassionate, intelligent, and dedicated to her students and patients. It was the greatest pleasure to have her as a mentor during nursing school and beyond.