I lived through the shooting at the University of Arizona College of Nursing that occurred on October 28, 2003. I was a nursing student, and one of my classmates who was failing the program came into the class while we were taking our midterm and shot two of our professors to death. Minutes before, he had shot and killed a third professor in her office.
All three were dedicated nurses and educators whose lives were unjustly ended that day.
With the passage of time, “living through” is now the term I use, instead of survivor, to describe my own experience, as I focus now on how I can dedicate my life to being the best nurse and educator I can and carry forward the work of my professors that were killed. I also am dedicated to helping stop gun violence in our country.
As nurses, we dedicate our lives to health promotion, and we must end gun violence for the health of us all, but especially our children.