I nominate Professor Donna Minicucci for the 2023 SUNY Orange Newburgh faculty DAISY Award. Mrs. Minicucci has a reputation that precedes her. I once read a rating that said, “If you have her as a professor, consider yourself blessed by the nursing school Gods.” That person’s rating was spot on, and I was doubly blessed to have Mrs. Minicucci as my instructor for Nursing 2 and for Nursing 4.

Mrs. Minicucci has a gift for teaching nursing students. She has a way of delivering her lectures in a clear, concise manner while offering relevant (and often humorous) stories that reinforce what she’s teaching from her own professional experience as a nurse. In addition to her lectures, Mrs. Minicucci mixes it up with games like Jeopardy review and role-playing of patient scenarios to help students learn in different ways. She holds herself to the highest standard and has high expectations for her students, and yet she is always approachable and available to anyone who needs help – with anything. She continuously provides every student with honest feedback and reassurance that they can be successful in her class.

When we beat ourselves up for not doing as well as we wanted on a test or a quiz, she’s right there to tell us that we are smart and we can do this. She reminds us to believe in ourselves and to trust ourselves. Beyond the classroom, Mrs. Minicucci reaches out to students who are experiencing challenges in their personal lives. She offers comfort and assistance in whatever way she can, and she always follows up to make sure they are okay. Mrs. Minicucci is a great teacher – the best I’ve ever had – but what makes her exceptional is the way she truly cares about her students. Her mission as a teacher is to guide her students to think like nurses and to set them up for success. As a student in her class, it’s clear to see that she loves what she’s doing. Teaching nursing students is not just a job to Mrs. Minicucci; it is a calling that she answered, and I’m so thankful that she did.