Senior nursing students performed flash mob at fundraiser breakfast
(-- The Beacon)
By Kathryn Walters Staff Writer walters14@up.edu
On Sept. 28, what started as a fundraiser and networking opportunity ended in song and dance as UP senior nursing students staged a flash mob at the Oregon Center for Nursing (OCN) Fundraiser Breakfast. The fundraiser was held at the Oregon Zoo and raised more than $100,000.
Mary Rita Hurley, director of OCN, came up with the idea for UP students to perform at the breakfast and contacted Joanne Warner, dean of the School of Nursing, to see if it could be organized. Warner liked the idea and asked Maureen Briare, associate director of music in the Chapel of Christ the Teacher, to help coordinate the flash mob.
Briare, who graduated from the School of Nursing in 1992, wrote an original song for the flash mob called "Together We Can," which expands on the theme of positivity and hope for the nursing discipline.
"It is a rally cry," Briare said. "I hope that they can take the text to heart."
According to Warner, the reaction to the flash mob was overwhelmingly positive. Warner said many audience members were moved to tears and the students helped to revitalize those present.
"It was more than a song and dance," Warner said. "It was a group of professional students coming together to lift the hearts and spirits of those who are in and who support nursing."
The flash mob started after the keynote address by Mary Sorteberg, wife of Oregon senator Jeff Merkley. Senior Jared Bassett stood up and began the song, followed by senior Kailey Sparks. Other members of the flash mob joined in and everyone gathered on the stage to sing and dance.
"It made it more powerful that they were singing the song live," Briare said.
The theme of the breakfast was "Every Nurse is a Leader." According to Warner, the flash mob took this theme to heart.
"It demonstrates that we are risk takers and are willing to step up and to do something out of the ordinary in pursuit of good goals," Warner said.
Representatives from many health service organizations attended the breakfast and were impressed by the flash mob.
Warner said the flash mob received invitations from the Northwest Organization of Nurse Executives to perform at a meeting in March and from Providence Health and Services to perform at their Nurses Week.
Singing unexpectedly in front of many people made Bassett nervous, but he was glad that he was a part of the flash mob because he used to be in choir.
"I've missed my music fill," Bassett said.
"None of us could stop smiling," Sparks said. "It was really neat to feel so appreciated."
To prepare for the flash mob, Briare and the students rehearsed three Sundays in a row as well as right before the breakfast. The students, accompanied by some members of the University Chapel Choir as well as instrumental accompaniment, recorded the song in Briare's home studio. The recording was played at the breakfast, which the students sang over live.
Recording in a studio was a new experience for many of the nursing students.
"I was a little unsure," senior Kailey Sparks said. "It was a different side of singing than I had experienced."
Senior Megan Drouhard initially felt apprehensive about being in the flash mob.
"I had to talk myself into it because it was out of my comfort zone," Drouhard said.
Briare said the flash mob made an impression that might help the students in their future careers.
"These were students that were taking a risk," she said. "It might take a song and a dance to get you a job."
