IU School of Nursing student Valliei Chandrakumar has been selected as a Top 10 Senior as part of the annual recognition of the Top 100 students at Indiana University Indianapolis.
Top 10 students are selected for their academic achievements, leadership on campus, and involvement in the community.
Chandrakumar has had multiple student leadership positions during her time with the IU School of Nursing in Indianapolis. She is currently a Social Justice Resident Assistant at University Tower on campus, where she plans informational events for students to engage with social justice topics.
She also does a weekly “treat trolley” in the residence hall where she meets with students, and they answer questions for candy. Chandrakumar said it’s a helpful way to stay in touch with her residents and what’s happening in their lives.
“I get to hear about their week and hear about how that test went, and so I find that work pretty fulfilling too,” Chandrakumar said.
Chandrakumar is the vice president of the Indiana Association of Nursing Students, which gives nursing students networking opportunities through conferences and panels.
She serves as the program director of the Student Nurse Partnership Program for the Student Nurses’ Association on the Indianapolis campus. She coordinates mentor-mentee relationships for members to help give new nursing students relationships to rely on and was a mentor herself.
“I found that so fulfilling, getting to support them through the process, because nursing school isn’t always easy,” Chandrakumar said.
Her own mentee is currently learning the ropes of the program director position so she can take on the role after Chandrakumar graduates.
“It’s nice to know that it’s in great hands,” she said.
Outside of school, Chandrakumar works as a patient care technician at Eskenazi Hospital’s emergency department.
“I really love not knowing what’s going to happen with my shift, and knowing that I can handle it, and I can get to meet new people along the way,” said Chandrakumar, who has accepted a job at Eskenazi after graduation.
Other hands-on experiences include her clinicals she completed as part of her course requirements. Her capstone experience at the medical ICU at IU Health University Hospital helped her prepare to bridge the gap between student and nurse.
“It was an experience that built up my competence and confidence in myself, so it was such a nice transition from being a nursing student into being a new-grad nurse in a couple months,” Chandrakumar said.
For Chandrakumar, being selected as a Top 10 senior is an honor that confirms her hard work and sacrifice have paid off.
“It was affirming to me to know that my hard work meant something, and it just means a great deal that IU Indy acknowledged that,” she said.
Chandrakumar has received support from her community including clinical instructors such as Michelle Washington, Skippy Brewer, Karen Hunt, and Tamra Shaner. Her SJRA supervisors, Josh Rojas and Jen Argumedo, as well as Brandy Gilbert, her LHSI research internship supervisor, have also provided support in personal and professional development.
“When I think about Top 10, I think ‘I just have so much gratitude for having such a supportive community,’” Chandrakumar said.
As she prepares to graduate, Chandrakumar says she thinks of the Winnie-the-Pooh quote, “How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”
“I think that kind of really sums up my experience here at IU Indy,” she said. “I’m trying to be present in the 9 a.m. lectures, and the club meetings I have with my friends, and the walks around campus, because I know I’m going to miss it so dearly when I leave.”
