Spartan Tri-athlete: KIN Alumni Pushing Physical Boundaries

By: Dr. Michael Dao, Assistant Professor, Department of Kinesiology

If there is one thing about a Spartan that can be true, it is that Spartans exude physicality, dominance, and an exceptional sense of self-discipline. Anna Guzman, a Kinesiology alumnus who graduated in 2011, epitomizes the physicality commonly associated with Spartans. At the same time, she is excelling as a triathlete who recently placed in the top 20 of Americans and top 100 of out 2000 in the Kona Triathlon. For those who may not know, the Kona Triathlon is one of the most elite and prestigious events for this kind of sport. As a former student-athlete on the SJSU Women’s Tennis Team from 2007-2011, Anna fell into triathlons because her brother was on the club team at Cal Poly. Thus, when she retired from competitive tennis, triathlons presented a very appealing form of physical activity and competition.

Anna Guzman, Kinesiology Alumnus

Anna acknowledged utilizing some of her Kinesiology background to help prepare for triathlons. Anna chose to study Kinesiology as an undergraduate student because she was always into sports, physical activity, and health and wanted to major in a topic that would allow her to work in these areas. As a student-athlete and always interested in sports, Anna was motivated to learn about the body holistically, eventually leading to her active lifestyle. For example, specializing in exercise and fitness, Anna has used her knowledge of exercise prescription, nutrition, and exercise psychology to manage her training for triathlons. What is important to Anna is the ability to understand how the body works, responds to training and rest, and how to better facilitate training to meet her goals. Moreover, Anna uses her kinesiology knowledge to educate others on how the body responds, how to better weight train, and how to prepare mentally for extreme exercise conditions.

Anna is currently the Senior Assistant General Manager of Sports Basement in Campbell. For her, it is great to continue to work in sports in her career and to be an ascending triathlete. Her most recent success was winning her first half Ironman in Santa Cruz. It has been nothing but hard work and discipline for Anna to get this far. She praises her time at SJSU for her ability to manage her work and training efficiently. She highlighted, “My day-to-day life consists of working a full-time job and training one or two of the sports every day while also maintaining a good diet. It can be difficult to maintain, but my experiences as a student and an athlete at SJSU taught me how to stay motivated and focused.” As a student-athlete, she learned discipline, time management, and organizational skills that have helped her be successful in all facets of her life. She keeps in touch with former professors and coaches who shaped her SJSU experience. Anna’s SJSU experience was meaningful, and she continues to hold her education and relationships now. Lastly, starting in 2024, Anna will be racing as a professional triathlete!

Interprofessional Nurse’s Shadows

By: Maya Carlyle, Recruitment and Events Associate, The Valley Foundation School of Nursing

In The Valley Foundation School of Nursing (TVFSON), nurses work every day to educate, mentor, and support the nurses of tomorrow. This is no simple task! Challenges abound; from those found in all classrooms, to unique challenges faced by the wider healthcare community.

One such challenge is that of numbers.  Every semester, TVFSON adds a cohort of 60 students to the roster, and those students all need to get into healthcare facilities twice a week in order to learn some of the vital hands-on skills which will make them life-saving nurses in the future.

Over many Saturdays this Fall semester, one nurse clinical instructor, Carolina Cacho, DNP, RN, NPD-BC, CRNP, CCRN—K, had to get creative ensuring her 11 students received “quality experiential learning opportunities…” as she brought her class into a facility experiencing several healthcare challenges: a small unit with an average of 24 to 26 patients; only 5 to 6 nurses on staff and up to three Hospital Services Assistants (HSAs); and ongoing renovations of the floor below the unit (causing a reduction in space, and sometimes a reduction in the number of hospital staff on duty) which meant that at times there were more students than hospital staff!

Neither Dr Cacho, nor the hospital staff let that stop them from providing students the best education possible. With an assist by another amazing TVFSON clinical instructor, Marilyn Reiss-Carradero RN, MSN, CCRN, some creative solutions were found as connections with nurse leaders in the Wound Care Department, Cardiac Monitor Room, Rapid Response Team, and the PICC/USGIV Team were established.

“The goal was to [have students] spend time with the nurses [and/or] cardiac monitor techs during their clinical time… they were able to learn and understand these other roles and how they impact the role of the nurses.  These shadowing experience opportunities made a big difference…”

On the purely logistical side, the 11 students were able to be rotated through, in both their primary unit and the other partnered units and teams, making sure the primary unit was not overwhelmed with learners.

The real winners, though, are the students.

“These shadowing experiences were well received by the students,” Dr Cacho reported, “And they all looked forward to their clinical times.  They loved sharing their experiences during our post-course conferences.”

For more information about The Valley Foundation School of Nursing, please reach out to:
Email: Nursing@sjsu.edu
Phone: 408-924-3131

Dean’s Message – Spring 2023

Dean Audrey ShillingtonWelcome to the Spring 2023 College of Health and Human Sciences newsletter.  Here at CHHS, we “Connect Passion to Purpose”.

This is one of the things I love about my job.  Every single day, I get to work and collaborate with others who are connecting their passion to purpose.  I continue to be impressed that so many of our faculty and staff work here at SJSU because of their deep belief in, and personal alignment with, the mission of our college and university– the belief that we are here to cause ripples of change for good.  We show-up, day after day, to assure students have access to the opportunities a college education affords.  We know those students will complete their degrees despite many social or economic barriers–students, and their families, who have made huge sacrifices to be here.   We know those very same students will take their knowledge and skills back to their communities to impact the health and wellbeing of their families and neighbors.

Our staff can speak eloquently about how the mission of the college and university gives their work meaning and a direction for their passion.  We have incredibly talented and deeply committed faculty who help our students take their passion and connect it to purpose.  They do this with their award-winning instruction and research, mentoring students in their labs and scientific inquiry, engaging students in intellectual curiosity, learning, and skills development.

Passion is connected to purpose through a myriad of intensive internships and practica, where that connection is created in tandem with our community partners who teach and guide our students in the application of knowledge in real world settings.  In addition to numerous undergraduate programs and degrees, we have three doctoral programs that are graduating professionals whose passion is driving them to become innovative leaders in their fields.  We have seven masters programs connecting student passion to the purpose of becoming the next generation of advanced researchers, leaders, as well as policy and clinical practitioners.

I invite you to read the following stories that are just a small sampling of the impressive and impactful work that happens here every single day.

“The purpose of life is a life of purpose.”
― Robert Byrne

First Room Naming for the College of Health and Human Sciences

By Sonia Wright

This spring we celebrated with the Vlasoff family as the first named room in the College of Health and Human Sciences was dedicated: the Susan Vlasoff Memorial Pediatric Nursing Simulation Lab.  The lab is on the third floor of the Health Building, home to our donor-named department, The Valley Foundation School of Nursing.  This new name honors an endowment which will provide support for supplies and equipment to the simulation lab, a vital immersive tool used to train tomorrow’s nurses.

The Susan Vlasoff
Memorial Pediatric Nursing Simulation Lab.
© 2023 SJSU, photo by Robert C. Bain, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The Susan Vlasoff Memorial Pediatric Nursing Simulation Lab is home to tools, interactive human-simulation mannequins, and hospital-like equipment which allow student nurses to hone the skills needed to caretake the health of our smallest and youngest community members.

​​Susan ‘Suzy’ Jacobs Vlasoff grew up in the Bay Area and attended SJSU for her undergraduate degree. She graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing in 1970. Seven years after starting her nursing career, she married Dan, and they raised their daughter Elizabeth in Campbell. Suzy worked at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, first in oncology and then moved over to pediatrics and the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) where she spent the rest of her 30+ year career. She was a woman’s rights supporter and interested in helping other young nurses become successful.

The Susan Vlasoff
Memorial Pediatric Nursing Simulation Lab.
© 2023 SJSU, photo by Robert C. Bain, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

When asked to talk about her mother, Elizabeth described her as a “spitfire.”  Dan added that she was a very outspoken, opinionated person – perfect for a nurse advocating for her patients, as well as her fellow and future nurses.

75 Years of San José State Air Force ROTC

By Benjamin Goirigolzarri

For 75 years, San José State University, the College of Health and Human Sciences (CHHS) and its Department of Aerospace Studies, and the United States Air Force have worked in close partnership to develop leaders of character who are equipped to lead our nation’s military. The Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) at San José State University was established shortly after the inception of the U.S. Air Force in 1947 and has since seen its graduates lead across the private and public sector. Through the College of Health and Human Sciences’ unwavering support and rigorous curriculum, Detachment 045 has produced Air Force Senior Leaders, Air Force Wing Commanders, leaders in academia and industry, and U.S. Representatives committed to serving American interests both domestic and abroad.

On Thursday, May 4, San José State University’s President Dr. Cynthia Teniente-Matson joined Air Force Senior Leaders to celebrate 75 years of committed partnership. The event featured remarks from SJSU’s President, Moffett Field’s 129th Rescue Wing Vice Wing Commander, Colonel Jeremy Guenet, Air Force ROTC Commander, Colonel Corey Ramsby, and Detachment 045’s Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Joshua Sullivan. The event also included former Detachment 045 Commander, Lt Col (Retired) Kirk Brown, whose father was the very first Commander in 1947. They collectively highlighted the countless benefits shared by SJSU, CHHS, AFROTC, and the local community even in the honest light of historical challenges. Lieutenant Colonel Sullivan echoed this with, “Our student population is small, but they are mighty, and will become immediate ambassadors carrying the values they learn at SJSU and Air Force ROTC across the world.”

Detachment 045 graduates will immediately tackle increasingly complex and demanding challenges that the world poses to its leaders. SJSU, CHHS, and its AFROTC program continue to prepare future leaders with the requisite critical-thinking skills, leadership experience and preparation, and the core values needed to navigate wicked problems and to ethically and morally command our nation’s military. The success of the AFROTC program extends beyond retention rates, graduation rates, or the impressive titles held by countless Det 045 graduates. It is measured by producing leaders of character whose “Spartan Airmen core values are so essential to who they are that they overflow into every interaction, changing our community and world for the better.”

Toward the end of the evening, AFROTC cadets and their families gathered alongside SJSU and CHHS leadership, Air Force Leadership, and the community leaders in attendance for a photo. The stage light lit up their faces, as if to recognize the illustrious lives of Det 045’s graduates and announce the promise of greatness among the attendees. Even after 75 years, the relationship between Air Force ROTC, the College of Health and Human Sciences, and San José State University continues to grow, galvanized by their shared commitment to integrity, service, and excellence. Here’s to 75 more years.

“The society that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting by fools.” – Thucydides