SPECIAL SESSION: Legacy Building: Telling Stories That Inspire

Description/Overview: Legacy is what one leaves behind for those who follow. STTI regularly honors the accomplishments of colleagues but we still know too little about our shared global inheritance and the legacy builders working among us today. Legacy, as stories remembered and stories told, has the power to affirm and to motivate those who hear the stories. Many kinds of inheritances of can facilitate the accomplishment of one’s goals and help in the overcoming of diverse barriers. STTI members and groups have created legacies in practice, education, service, scholarship, leadership and philanthropy. We should know more about our inheritance. Presenters in this session will tell the stories of a select few of those colleagues from the Americas, Europe,and Africa/Asia/Oceania whose legacies have shaped us. Presenters will also identify several exemplars of proactive legacy building taking place now around the world. Session participants will have the opportunity to reflect on and to tell their own stories about those remarkable nurses who influenced them. Because STTI Convention brings together members from many cultures, we can anticipate rich story telling from session attendees beyond those stories told by presenters. Professional legacy might be likened to a mighty tree whose deep roots nourish the branches and produce new leaves in each season. As leaves mature and fall, they contribute to the health of the tree in future growing seasons. Nursing has common roots, many branches and uncountable numbers of leaves. It is possible to place ourselves on a branch of that metaphorical tree and to identify specific roots that have influenced us. What legacy will we leave? President Prevost has described legacy building as paying forward to pay back. As we intentionally build a personal nursing legacy we honor those who have nurtured us. Legacy building is unique to individuals and deeply personal. Legacy building is also one way to collectively create the future we want for those who will build on what we do in our neighborhoods and in the world. We indeed stand on the shoulders of global giants. In this session we’ll tell some of the stories.