The Fuld Leadership Program
Fuld Fellowships
Virginia Tester
Biographical Sketch
Reflections on the Fuld Fellowship
Incorporating Social Responsibility into Daily Life
Biographical Sketch
Virginia Tester is an Atlanta native whose interest in healthcare was established as a student at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill as a Morehead Scholar. While living in rural Kenya with her host family, she experienced first-hand the effects of living, suffering, and dying with HIV/AIDS, as she watched a neighbor and host-family member succumb to the disease. Having witnessed the physical and social toll taken by the tabooed disease, Virginia felt a desire to participate in the caring process for those underserved and neglected communities that suffer disease and poor health.
Upon returning to North Carolina, Virginia set off on a course of study that would allow her to obtain a broad understanding of the factors contributing to the state of healthcare in African communities affected by HIV/AIDS. She became fluent in Swahili, decided to major in International Studies, and planned another trip to Africa to explore her growing interest in the relationship between faith and healing. In 2004, Virginia went to Rwanda to research the role of missionary medicine in the HIV/AIDS crisis there. Virginia was again touched by the healthcare crisis in Africa, and returned to the U.S. with an even greater resolve to help heal vulnerable communities, using a multimedia documentary, “One by One,” which she created to help convey the stories of those she met living with HIV/AIDS.
After graduating from UNC, Virginia moved to Atlanta with her husband, Mathew Tester, to work for a small non-profit that cares for medically fragile babies in state custody. She was immediately drawn to Emory’s outstanding healthcare community as a place to study nursing, and naturally connected with the mission of the Fuld Fellowship to work with underserved populations in a socially responsible manner.
Her first year at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing brought ample opportunity for Virginia to become actively involved in student-lead organizations and initiatives, including Emory International Student Nurses Association (EISNA), Health Students Taking Action Together (HealthSTAT), and the Atlanta Doula Cooperative (ADC). Virginia served as the junior class president, seeking to promote class unity and encouragement among BSN students through various activities and projects, and represented the nursing profession while serving as the HIV/AIDS Community Service Liason for HealthSTAT. She participated in the school-sponsored alternative spring break trip to Jamaica where she explored in more depth the relationship between faith and healing while working alongside the Missionaries of the Poor in Kingston. Virginia’s first year as a nursing student concluded with a powerful and meaningful educational experience in southwest Georgia as part of the Farm Worker Family Health Program.
As she continues to volunteer as a trained doula, or one who provides physical, emotional, and informational support to women in labor, Virginia hopes to make a greater contribution to underserved populations of the Atlanta community with other Emory BSN Students through the recently founded Atlanta Doula Cooperative. She also remains actively involved in her local church fellowship, and volunteers regularly as an editor with the Well Project, an informational resource for women living with HIV/AIDS. Virginia remains committed to her education and plans to study to be a Family Nurse Practitioner and Nurse Midwife, ultimately hoping to provide holistic and personalized healthcare to individuals and their families, both in urban Atlanta and rural African communities.
Reflection on the Fellowship
Part of what attracted me to nursing was the perception I have that nurses make a difference in the world. I have felt this strong sense of calling to serve my peers, my neighbors, and those vulnerable individuals in the world since I was very young because I believe that we are all in need of service, care, and love throughout our lives. I realized that nurses are people who provide such personal care to their patients on a daily basis, making a difference in their communities, regions, and the world just one person at a time. I realized as I applied to the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and for the Fuld Fellowship that what I’d been committed to in life and hoping to be able to practice as a nurse was this idea of social responsibility and service to vulnerable populations.
The Fuld Fellowship has not only allowed me the platform to speak on such issues as the urgent need to care for those often-neglected communities and populations in the world, but it has further challenged my understanding of social responsibility. I have learned from other Fuld Fellows the many ups and downs of trying to serve those most in need of healthcare despite the many social and political barriers in the way. I have also been reminded by Fuld Fellows and other nursing leaders at NHWSON that it is only by a commitment to serving one another – social responsibility – that positive, sweeping changes may be carried through to the benefit of greater communities. I am “beyond” grateful for the opportunity the Fuld Fellowship has granted me to study nursing right now. I look forward to many more lessons learned as a Fellow, and anticipate enriching experiences ahead where I may contribute my commitment to serving others as a Family Nurse Midwife to the health of my surrounding community and the world as we work together to make a difference one patient at a time.
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