EWU to Graduate First Cohort of Nurses

The Eastern Washington University School of Nursing is preparing to graduate its very first cohort of nurses.

This group of 40 students is making history. Not only are they the first to complete the Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program — more than a decade in the making — but all 40 students who began the program will graduate together at EWU’s May 2 semester commencement ceremony.

“I’m incredibly proud of this first group. They have risen to the challenges that we have put in front of them,” says clinical assistant faculty member Brenda Hulett.

Time has flown by since the program, designed and spearheaded by Donna Bachand, nursing program administrator and department chair, received state funding and approval to move forward with classes in the fall of 2023. Accreditation review is now in process, with a recent site visit completed and an official letter of decision Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education expected in October.

Bachand recalls interviewing every qualified applicant two years ago, evaluating not only their academic credentials but also their records of community service, work histories and life experiences —part of an approach known as holistic admissions.

At a time when Washington ranks in the top quarter of U.S. states facing severe nursing shortages, EWU is graduating a class that includes 37 in-state students.

The graduating cohort includes students who are the first in their families to attend college. Some come from rural farming communities and other larger cities. This gives the group, Bachand says, a unique understanding of healthcare needs in communities throughout central and eastern Washington. And they are also exceptionally caring.

“They support one another emotionally, they support one another academically and they seem to genuinely care about one another,” Bachand says. “That’s the culture that we wanted to build here in the School of Nursing – and I’m so pleased to see that.”

EWU President Shari McMahan says when the BSN program was launched, university leadership envisioned a future where EWU-trained nurses would make a difference in our region.

“Today, with the graduation of our first cohort, that future is here,” McMahan says. “I am filled with immense pride and gratitude for our students, our faculty, and the communities they will now serve.”

Over the past two years, the students have already contributed in meaningful, foundational ways to the program, offering instructional and operational feedback, creating a peer-to-peer mentoring initiative and establishing a student nursing association.

Even while pursuing their studies, many held part-time jobs, and, impressively, still found time to give back to their communities by volunteering for a variety of causes.

This semester, for example, students completed their capstone clinical work at facilities spanning from the Tri-Cities to Coeur d’Alene and including all major hospitals in Spokane and Spokane Valley. Bachand liked the results.

“Everywhere we go in the community, we are welcome. And I think it’s because of the reputation that Eastern has,” Bachand says. “It’s not just because they need nurses, I think they really want Eagle nurses.”

The Eagle nurses of 2025 have a wide variety of professional plans.

Many, like Alexana Bueno, will immediately enter the nursing field upon graduation. Bueno, who interned in oncology at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in her Tri-Cities hometown, was offered a full-time job working with cancer patients.

Throughout the course of their studies, Bueno and her fellow students benefitted from a team of faculty members who’ve practiced nursing in a wide range of settings and have a variety of professional backgrounds.

Another factor in the students’ success was the prioritizing of student well-being, identifying those who were struggling early-on and providing tutoring and other support to help them overcome challenges.

“Nursing is an applied discipline, so they started semester one in a skills lab and in a clinical setting working with patients. It’s just difficult,” Bachand says. “I’m very proud of the work the faculty have done. I’m very proud of the contribution the students have made. I’m very grateful for the staff we have who are so committed to their success.”

As future cohorts progress through the EWU School of Nursing, this inaugural class has already left a meaningful legacy – one that helped shape both the curriculum and the culture.

“The legacy is their drive to make this program succeed – and that’s infectious,” says Hulett. “It really does inspire other people to pick up that torch and carry it along.”