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Hometown: South Windsor, Conn.
Major: Nursing
Notable Activities: BC swimming and diving team; ACC Academic Honor Roll; Student-Athlete Advisory Committee; Appalachia Volunteers; Undergraduate Research Fellow; peer leader, CSON Freshman Seminar; Athletes in Action Christian Ministry; Advanced Study Grant recipient; Semester abroad at University of Otago in New Zealand.
Post-graduation Plans: To secure a position in maternity/perinatal nursing at a West Coast hospital.
Overview: DiStefano, whose signature event is the breaststroke, has been a member of the swimming and diving team all four years and captain for the last two. She was named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll and honored with the Kevin Conway Award as outstanding sophomore on the team. She is equally passionate and dedicated to her nursing major, completing clinicals at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Medical Center, among other placements. She was awarded an Advanced Study Grant to travel to Nepal to examine the cultural barriers related to maternal mortality, and later presented her findings at two research symposia on campus. Excelling at both swimming and nursing is not surprising given DiStefano’s lineage – her mother was also a nursing major and Division 1 swimmer in college.
What made you want to pursue nursing as a career?
Nursing seemed like something I could be good at. I like talking to people and comforting them. Coming to Boston College, it turned into so much more. The opportunity to study here and be involved in the Boston community from a health care perspective has revealed that nursing is the right choice for me. Nurses have the privilege to be with people on their worst day and on their best day. Strangers invite us into their lives in such an intimate way, not because they know me, but because I wear the badge of nursing. That’s what important about nursing, being at the bedside and holding someone’s hand if they need it. I’m excited for nursing to be my life, not just my career.
What has the opportunity to be a student-athlete meant to you?
There were schools and coaches that told me that I had to be a different major if I wanted to be a swimmer at their school. I didn’t receive that from BC. My coach was very receptive to letting me have a chance to do both. My identity here has been swimming and nursing. I’m passionate about both. I had support and resources to excel in both areas. The BC community allowed me to embrace my identity as a nursing student-athlete.
Who has had the biggest influence during your time at Boston College?
The entire faculty in the Connell School of Nursing and the nurses in the clinical settings have been mentors and role models for excellence in nursing. I met [CSON Associate Professor] Dr. Judith Shindul-Rothschild at Admitted Eagle Day. She said, “You’re a nurse and want to be a student-athlete? We’re going to make this happen.” She has told me that as a BC nursing student I can do anything I set my mind to. She has encouraged my respect for and my confidence in the field of nursing. Also, the support from my teammates has been incredible. Our community is supportive, loving and encouraging of one another.
Talk about your time in Nepal.
Globally, maternal mortality – women not surviving childbirth – is a huge concern. My intention was to see the cultural practices, behaviors and understandings that were making Nepal an unsafe place for childbirth. I was at a nursing school in Pokhara, the country’s second largest city, and did my maternity rotation there. I saw my first live birth the minute I walked in the hospital. The topography of Nepal is challenging and not everyone lives close to a city and transportation is not always guaranteed, so there’s a tradition of birthing in the home. In Nepali tradition, there is an expectation of stoicism for women and they are expected to bear the complications of delivery quietly and independently.
I also spent a week working at a clinic in a village that was an 11-hour journey uphill from the city. There were only two midwives to serve hundreds of villagers. The city hospital I volunteered at was participating in a safe motherhood program, offering free maternity care and travel stipends as an incentive to get women to deliver at the hospital. Maternal health translates to child health which translates to the health of a community.
What has been one of your favorite experiences during your time at BC?
I enjoyed the opportunity to participate in research symposiums [Undergraduate Research Symposium and Advancing Research and Scholarship at Boston College: Global Public Health] and to independently explore something I was really interested in. Putting together a professional presentation on topics that I was excited about and topics that I thought nursing was a really important intervention for. To engage in conversations with other students who were pursuing their passions. Those research symposiums were really positive experiences.
What’s been the BC difference for you?
The Jesuit tradition and how the Jesuit tradition plays through the role of a nurse in the community are really important to me. It’s about how nurses are called to serve their community through compassion, knowledge and competence. The faculty here is so dedicated and knowledgeable. Also, as a nursing student, the accessibility to such excellent teaching hospitals and varied experiences let me see all different sorts of health care.
What advice would you give to incoming first year students?
Take advantage of the community. One really wonderful thing about BC is you’re among this community of diverse, vibrant, engaged and passionate people. Allow your peers to teach you and motivate you. I’ve learned a lot from the conversations I have had with people. Don’t be afraid to get involved in something completely new.
What will you miss most about BC?
My saddest thing about leaving is that I’m not going to be in this little microcosm where everyone is working towards learning more about their community and how they can serve their community and how they can support and motivate other people.