The Clifton Thornton story is pretty typical of how things work here at SON Marketing and Communications, or MarCom.
He’s at the School of Nursing. He shines brightly among his peers. We hear about him. He’s gone. (Just swap in “she” or “he” where appropriate and you could name most every student here.)
We tell marketing job candidates that the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing isn’t like a lot of other places. It’s an outstanding program, so that sets it apart, right? But it’s also a bit different in that students come to us as fully formed adults, alumni of some other school. No more time for foolishness or indecision. They want to be nurses, like, now! So the programs are accelerated and very focused, the homework and clinical work all-consuming. Add to this the personality type drawn to nursing, those with an aversion to seeking personal credit for a job well done and, wow. It’s refreshing. It’s noble.
It’s a pain in the butt.
I mean, for me. Ahem …
So, when we do hear of students with a story — who might be able to take a just few moments to tell it (as long as it’s not all about them) — we lock on. Suddenly, Cliff is plastered all over Johns Hopkins Nursing magazine and website, in a Q&A, as a leader of a cohort’s medical mission to St. Croix, and as a Shining Star Award winner, though it was his peers and profs who who were behind that. Sarah Kang and Nick Young of MarCom videotaped the chat for posterity (I tagged along) and took still photographs for, oh, everywhere.
But don’t hate Cliff because he’s one of the beautiful people now. He’s by all accounts a good guy and a great representative of what Hopkins Nursing stands for, and he’ll be carrying away a master’s degree as he heads off in a couple of weeks to a bright future in pediatric nursing.
And we’ll need another story to tell.
If you are (or know of) a student here with a fairly unique insight or path toward nursing (please, you all are), take a few minutes to check out Cliff’s clips and maybe consider letting MarCom know about you. We’re incredibly proud of our school and our students.
Honestly, we want the world to know about you.
Seriously …
Don’t make us tackle you around the ankles outside Jay’s cafeteria. Because we will.
Ask Cliff.
–Steve St. Angelo
