In 2020, Elham Algashgari was well on her way to earning her PhD at the IU School of Nursing when the COVID-19 pandemic drastically altered higher education at IU and across the nation. The inability to conduct research, facilitate analysis and meet in person with mentors delayed Elham’s completion of the doctorate. While many students require extra time to complete graduate-level degrees, Elham’s situation was unique.
With a scholarship from Jazan University in her home country of Saudi Arabia, Elham came to the United States in 2013 to complete a master’s degree and PhD in nursing. Speaking very little English when she arrived, she was able to finish the master’s degree in nursing leadership and management at IU Kokomo in just two years. When the pandemic limited progress on her PhD, the scholarship from Jazan was extended, but only for a short time. To make ends meet so that she could finish her degree, Elham applied for the IU Nursing Student Emergency Fund.
“I was lucky to find out about the emergency funding because it helped a lot,” said Elham, who worked part-time as a research assistant while pursuing her PhD. “The funds not only helped with my family’s financial need at the time, but it relieved stress and anxiety for me while I was working on my dissertation.”
Elham and her husband Sameer, an informatics research faculty member at IU Bloomington, have a 7-year-old son. After receiving the funds from the IU School of Nursing, Elham wrote to donors to thank them for their generosity.
“This support came on time to cover my home needs and to pay the electric bill,” Elham wrote. “My son will be grateful to have his new shoes for school and take healthy lunch with him to school with fruit and vegetables.”
Elham, who is expecting the couple’s second child in March 2024, graduated with her PhD in December 2023. Her dissertation examines the daily activities of heart failure patients and related cognitive dysfunction. Specifically, she analyzed the difficulties that heart failure patients encounter in performing daily activities and how cognitive interventions can improve function and quality of life.
Elham and Sameer plan to remain in the United States for a few more months before returning to Saudi Arabia to fulfill the terms of Elham’s scholarship. Working as a clinical instructor at Jazan University, she is excited to use what she’s learned at the IU School of Nursing to prepare future nurses to deliver exceptional patient care.
“When I was learning here at IU School of Nursing, I just recognized how important the teaching part is,” Elham explained. “It’s not only giving students information, it's more related to how we can help them engage in providing the care and in providing information to patients.”
While Elham is excited to return home to Saudi Arabia with her family, she is keeping her options open for returning to the U.S. to teach or practice nursing someday. She’s grateful for the guidance she’s received from the nursing faculty and the school, including the contribution from the IU Nursing Student Emergency Fund—in helping to further her education and pursue her dreams.
“I really appreciate the emergency fund, not just for the financial assistance it provided, but for the message it sent that my academic and professional aspirations were worth supporting.”
Gifts can be made to the IU Nursing Student Emergency Fund.