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Support that sends a message

By Jill Jansen

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Graphic including photo of Dr. Elham Algashgari, her husband, and her son, as well as a quote from the article

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.

  • Vital Signs Newsroom
    • 2025
    • 2024
      • December 2024 BSN graduate features
      • Celebrating Faculty and Student Excellence: Harm Prevention Partners Program Impact
      • Faculty Feature: Dr. Heather Hardin
      • Alumni Feature: Dawn Sites
      • Student Feature: Heather Ward
      • Donor Feature: Susan Buhr
      • Student Feature: Grace Heitzmann
      • Dr. Miyeon Jung
      • First-Generation Student: Chyna Gates
      • Resilience Redefined
      • Making Tomorrow Possible
      • Faculty Research: Dr. Kristin Levoy
      • Student Feature: Dayton Livingston
      • Alumni Feature: Savannah Langbehn
      • Donor Feature: Dr. Rose Mays
      • Bryan White and Marian Gilhooly lead in developing cultural competencies for the nursing curriculum
      • IU School of Nursing addresses state's nursing shortage with largest beginning class ever
      • Faculty Feature: Dr. Greg Carter
      • Celebrating Clinical Nurse Specialists!
      • Senior nursing students Serin Kang and Tomi Abegunde are ready for the start of the fall semester
      • Dr. Yvonne Lu's community-based research aims to increase health literacy about Alzheimer's Disease and related dementia among African Americans
      • IU student nurses experience healthcare in Kenya
      • Faculty Feature: Dr. Elizabeth Holtel
      • Dr. Jane von Gaudecker receives $2.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to address epilepsy treatment gap in western Kenya
      • Catalyst for change in The Kingdom of Eswatini
      • Fagan and Howle named Jonas Scholars
      • Jennifer Fuentes
      • Charlotte Carlley
      • IU School of Nursing Faculty Promotions
      • Dr. Jamie Rausch awarded August Tomusk Research Fund grant
      • Top 100: Gillienne Boyd
      • Elite 50: Stephanie Zidek
      • Top 100: Megan Szymanski
      • Top 100: Abby Henderson
      • Top 100: Emma Bucher
      • Kay Farmer
      • Kiki Suttle
      • Elham Algashgari
      • U.S. News & World Report's Best Online Nursing Rankings 2024
      • Top 100: Valliei Chandrakumar
      • Faculty Feature: Dr. Cindy Hill
      • Top 100: Tatum Murawski
      • Faculty Feature: Britney Arce
      • Faculty Feature: Dr. Melanie Gall
      • National Mentoring Month: Drs. Pei-Shiun Chang and Yvonne Lu
      • $15.5 million NIH award funds development of national network to include nursing home residents in clinical trials
      • Meet the IU School of Nursing Regatta Teams!
      • Meet the IU School of Nursing Regatta Teams!
      • Meet the IU School of Nursing Regatta Teams!
      • Student Feature: Ella Colclesser
      • Hispanic Heritage Month
      • Faculty Research: Dr. Jane von Gaudecker
      • Faculty Research: Dr. Jamie Rausch
      • Meet the IU School of Nursing Regatta Teams!
      • Faculty Research: Dr. Jennifer Brower
      • Meet the IU School of Nursing Regatta Volunteers!
      • Graduate student: Sarah Kenny
      • Hispanic Heritage Month Comes to a Close
      • Faculty Driving Change: Linda Romines and Sheila Wright
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