UND nursing students take on statewide leadership roles
March 19, 2026 by Walter Criswell for UND Today
Students also rescue, revive moribund organization with goal of strengthening North Dakota’s future nursing workforce
Four UND nursing students have been elected to leadership positions in the North Dakota Nursing Students’ Association (NSAND), giving UND nursing students a voice in statewide and national conversations about the future of the nursing profession.
The leadership roles come just months after UND’s chapter of NDSAND was nearly shut down due to declining participation. But a new group of students stepped forward to rebuild the organization — and now they’re helping represent future nurses across North Dakota.
For Ellen Steidl, clinical instructor and simulation director at UND’s College of Nursing & Professional Disciplines and faculty advisor for both the statewide and UND chapter, the students’ renewed enthusiasm is a promising sign for the future of nursing in North Dakota.
“It’s been really exciting,” Steidl said. “You see students take initiative and decide they want to be part of something bigger — that they care about the nursing profession and want to help improve it.”
From campus chapter to statewide leadership
NSAND is a statewide branch of the National Student Nurses’ Association, a professional organization that connects nursing students with national networks as they prepare to enter the health care workforce.
Earlier this year, UND nursing students sent their largest delegation in a decade to the NSAND convention in Fargo. During the convention, four UND students were elected to leadership roles in the statewide organization, a landmark for the University’s chapter.
Among those students were Elise Vik, who was elected director of funds, and Stephan Schultz and Sam Persson, who will serve as directors of local arrangements. In those roles, they will help support the organization’s goal of bringing nursing students across the state together.
For Kale Warner, a UND nursing student from Dickinson, running for a leadership position was partly about making sure UND nursing students had a stronger presence in statewide conversations.
“Our chapter didn’t really have much involvement at the state level before,” Warner said. “I wanted to help give UND more visibility and encourage more students here to get involved.”
Warner was elected student director of legislation and education, a role that connects nursing students with professional organizations shaping health care policy in the state.
“As director of legislation and education, I serve as a student representative on the North Dakota Center for Nursing and the North Dakota Nurses Association boards,” Warner said. “My role is to represent nursing students and bring their perspective into conversations about health care and nursing policy.”
UND nursing students rebuild NSAND chapter
Just months ago, however, the UND chapter itself was on the brink of disappearing.
Participation had taken a nosedive following the COVID-19 pandemic and only a small group of students remained in UND’s chapter. In the fall of 2025, a meeting was scheduled to discuss whether the chapter should close.
Instead, a group of pre-nursing students arrived to rally support and revive the group.
“I got an email saying they were having a meeting about closing our chapter,” Warner recalled. “A group of us went to that meeting and decided we wanted to keep it going. NSA is a great resource for students who want to meet people in the program and understand what nursing school is like.”
Since then, the chapter has expanded both its membership and community outreach efforts. Students have volunteered in service projects ranging from community education campaigns to making blankets for pediatric patients at Sanford Health.
“We do a lot of community service,” Warner said. “It’s a way for us to connect while also giving back to the community that supports us.”
Peer support for North Dakota’s nursing workforce
Steidl said the reason that NSAND is so important to students is that it can help them navigate the demanding transition from nursing school into clinical practice.
North Dakota, like many states, continues to face shortages in bedside nursing roles, and the early years of a nursing career can be especially challenging. In fact, nearly a third of bedside nurses leave the profession in their first year.
Organizations such as NSAND can connect students to peer support systems early and make the transition from the classroom to hospital a lot easier.
“If you have people you can lean on — people going through the same experiences — it helps you make it through that transition,” Steidl said.
For Warner, that sense of peer support was one of the main reasons he wanted to help rebuild UND’s chapter.
“Nursing exams are really tough, and the program can be pretty anxiety-inducing,” Warner said. “Having older students you can rely on for that guidance and support really does help.”
UND to host 2027 NSAND convention
The chapter’s resurgence could not have come at a better time. In 2027, UND will host the statewide convention, an event that will bring hundreds of students from across the state to UND’s campus.
“For the students, it’s a really big opportunity,” Steidl said. “They’re in college and actively participating in planning a statewide convention — lining up speakers, organizing logistics and working with students from across North Dakota.”
Three UND nursing alumni will be at the conference to present speeches, said Steidl.
And for Warner and other student leaders, the goal now is to ensure the organization continues to grow after they graduate.
“We’re going to graduate in about a year, so we want to make sure the work we’ve done to revive the chapter continues,” Warner said. “That means bringing in younger students now so they can step into leadership roles later.”
For Steidl, watching the organization rebound has been especially meaningful.
“It feels a little like being a proud parent,” she said. “They took something that was failing and turned it into something strong again.”
