2023

HOTLINE
Newsletter

FNSA's 68th Annual Convention took place on October 27th of this past year. The
theme outlined the development of the nursing profession post-pandemic. We
had a lot of wonderful speakers and great workshops student could participate
in. There was also an exciting Hawaiian Luau party, along with Jeopardy.
Congratulations to everyone who received an award that evening! There was
also an election for the new state Executive Board, which we are excited to work
together to prepare for next years convention. The executive board also has a few
open positions we are looking to fill, so if you are interested please reach out to
our President, Kelly York.
 Kelly York
President
Meet Kelly
I am proud to be elected and have the
opportunity to serve as your 2022-23 Florida
Nursing Association President. I enjoyed
meeting many of you at the convention and
want to thank last year's board for doing such an
amazing job and making the convention a
wonderful event. It was great to hear resolutions,
participate in the House of Delegates, and
attend wonderful workshops. Jeopardy was a
great way for us to practice our skills and work
collaboratively as a team while competing
against other schools. There was time to
network, connect, educate, and advocate for
changes in healthcare.
A little about myself. I will be starting my final
One of my goals this year is to grow our state
semester in January in the Accelerated Bachelor
membership and participation. I encourage
of Nursing Program at Keiser University in
every chapter to get involved as we grow
Tampa. I am a former educator and school
together. Caring for others on a local, state, and
administrator who has gone back to school to
national level should be a goal of all future
regain my passion for my career. I am a single
nurses. I challenge you to become involved and
mother of three teenagers who keep me on my
recruit more future nurses into the organization.
toes. Upon graduation my goal is to become a
I encourage each of you to participate in the
NICU Nurse. I want to encourage others that
organization and apply for scholarships, run for
nursing school is possible with hard work and
office, and make a difference at the local, state
determination.
or national level in the coming year!
I look forward to an amazing year. Please feel
free to reach out to me or your regional directors
with your ideas, questions, and concerns and I
look forward to meeting more members
throughout the year and at the National
Conference. We are here to support you!

[email protected]
 Mikala Armioia
1st Vice President
Meet Mikala
Hi! I am Mikala Armioia, and I am your
2023 First Vice President. I am originally from
Lake Placid, but moved to Orlando for my
Bachelor's (before I realized I wanted to be a
nurse). In my very limited free time, I love to
sing karaoke and get out and meet new
people and he mountains have a special place
in my heart. I got into nursing because I have
always wanted to be a person who made a
difference. I wanted to be someone that
people could rely on and trust, and after
seeing my grandparents struggle with health
issues and the impact that nurses made on
their care, I was drawn to the medical field.

My biggest goal this year is rebuilding

the already growing Florida Nursing Student
Association chapter. I want to bring
awareness to the great group of people that
this is and make sure that all student nurses
are aware of the resources that are available
to them! I decided to run very last minute,
but I wanted to grow my leadership skills
and let people know that anything is
possible. Having a voice is important, and I
wanted to become that voice for people, all
while getting involved on multiple levels.
 Natalie Clum
2nd Vice President
Meet Natalie
Hi! My name is Natalie Clum and
I am your 2023 Second Vice
President. I am from originally from
Tampa, but have been in
Jacksonville for school for 2 years. I
love going to concerts and the
beach. I chose nursing after
volunteering in the hospital for a
summer. I loved working with and
talking to the nurses and decided
that’s what I wanted to do.

I want to make the 2023

convention the best one yet. I plan
to bring new speakers and
activities that will get everyone
engaged. I chose to run for this
position because I absolutely love
planning events that bring people
together.
Elizabeth Paugh
Corresponding Secretary
Meet Elizabeth
Hi! My name is Elizabeth Paugh
and I am your 2023 Corresponding
Secretary. I am originally from Vero
Beach, FL but have been living in
Jacksonville for school. I love going to
the gym and the beach. I chose
nursing because of my great grandpa
who lived with me when I was
younger. He lost one of his legs to
cancer so I was his little "nurse". Ever
since then I wanted to be a nurse.

As the corresponding secretary I

want to provide more outreach to
the Florida Nursing Student
Association as a whole. I hope to
also bring a sense of creativity to
both the newsletter, along with
helping the Second Vice President
with convention. I chose to run for
this position because of the
opportunities it bring along side
with the connections I get to make/
 Jackie Eifert
Recording Secretary
Meet Jackie
I am born and raised in Oviedo, FL. I
always knew I wanted to be a nurse
and worked my way up the ladder by
becoming a CNA, EMT as well as
Paramedic. In my free time, you can
find me watching movies, being with
friends and family, and rock climbing.

With being the Recording Secretary

and holding that title, I plan to not
only aid in promoting the current
board plans but network with schools
and other board members to
ultimately do the best job I can while
leaving the position and everything
that comes with it better than I found
it. I chose to run because I felt as
though it would increase my current
skill set while allowing me to grow
professionally.
 Alexis Frank
Treasurer
Meet Alexis
I’m from Jacksonville Florida. In my free
time, I like weightlifting and taking care of
my plants. I got into nursing because I
think it’s one of the best ways that I can
treat and care for others and make a real
difference in someone’s life.

With my position as treasurer, I hope to

increase our fundraising efforts to not
only give back to our community, but to
aid our organization, and our quest to
rebuild after the pandemic. I would like
to implement strategies with the rest of
our board to optimally give our members
the best conventions and opportunities
to come.
 Lakisha Carter
Region 2 Director
Meet Lakisha
Hi! I am Lakisha Carter, and I am
your 2023 Region 2 Director. I’m from
Gainesville, Fl. I love to cook, read,
travel, and watch documentaries. I’ve
always loved taking care of people. I
grew up watching both of my
grandmothers take care of people
and help nurse them back to health
and I just adored that.

I ran for this position because it

involves bringing people together. I
love making connections and
keeping people informed. This is
very beneficial and important
concept of nursing.
Giovanna Mondoni
Region 3 Director
Meet Giovanna
I’m originally from São Paulo, Brazil. I
absolutely love reading romance and
travel. I got into nursing because as a
child I was sick all the time, and the
nurses that took care of me made all
the difference in my experience.

As a Region 3 Director I plan on making

sure the schools in my region are always
well informed. Also, I plan on having an
easy connection with the schools if they
need anything, being always available to
help. I decided to run because I’m
already on the board for my local SNA, as
a Volunteer Coordinator I have given
students in my school many
opportunities to give back to the
community and experience the joy of
caring for others. Being a Region 3
Director is going to allow me to help
other schools to do the same.
 Carrie Faust
Region 4Director
Meet Carrie
Hi! My name is Carrie Faust and I am
your 2023 Region 4 Director. I am from
Erie Pennsylvania. I really enjoy going to
new places. There is so much to see, and
so little time. Whenever I have free time I
go on a new adventure. I got into nursing
when I became an LPN. I just dipped my
toes to see if I enjoyed it. Six years later, I
am finally going for my RN, because I love
being a nurse! It is my get away, and I love
being able to be an advocate and help my
patients. In return they teach me so much
everyday. There is no better feeling then
being a nurse!

I plan on working with the other

schools in our region. I look forward to
bringing the presence of SNA to other
schools, and working together as a team.
Morgann Betterly
Region 5 Director
Meet Morgann
Hi! I am Morgann Betterly, and I am
your 2023 Region 5 Director. I am originally
from a small town in Michigan called Grass
Lake. When I am not studying, I love to
read and listen to music (I sing sometimes
as well!) I got into nursing because I
became passionate about women’s health
as a teenager. Ever since I have wanted to
become a Labor and Delivery nurse and/or
work in women’s health as a nurse
practitioner.

I plan to work with the schools in my

region to ensure they are up to date with
news and events from FNSA! I want to
create a consistent chain of
communication so region 5 schools stay
in the loop! I chose to run because I have
had a great experience working with my
school’s SNA board and wanted to take it
one step further!
 Leah Shinn
Region 7 Director
Meet Leah
Hi! My name is Leah Shinn and I am
your 2023 Region 7 Director. I am from
Fort Myers, FL and love to surf, play guitar,
and spend time with friends. I got into
nursing because I knew I wanted to have
more patient contact and be able to
impact people on a personal level while
they are in the hospital. I also love research
and the fact that nursing allows you to
have the opportunity to do that as well is
awesome!

I plan to build stronger connections

between the schools in my region and
FNSA by visiting each of them personally
and giving presentations to the students
and staff regarding the benefits of
student involvement. I chose to run
because I am from the area, I love SNA,
and I love meeting new people and
making connections with them.
 Call To Serve
Executive Board
Region 1 Director
Regional Directors expectations are to keep in
contact with the schools within their region to
make sure everyone is up to date on the
information given by the state board. They also
serve as a communication pathway between their
regions schools and the state board.

Region 1 schools:
Florida A&M University, Florida State University,
Gulf Coast State College, Northwest Florida State
College, Pensacola Christian College Pensacola
State College, University of West Florida

Region 6 Director
Regional Directors expectations are to keep in
contact with the schools within their region to make
sure everyone is up to date on the information given
by the state board. They also serve as a
communication pathway between their regions
schools and the state board.

Region 6 Schools:
Barry University, Florida International University,
Florida Keys Community College, Miami Dade
College, University of Miami, West Coast University