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For Gina Nighswander Driedger, “Grebel was so much more than the educational experience.” Living at Conrad Grebel University College while studying at McMaster University, Gina went the extra mile – literally – to participate in the welcoming community Grebel had to offer. Starting her post-secondary education at the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ in 2004, Gina studied Fine Arts and Music for a year before switching schools to study healthcare. While Gina was enrolled in McMaster’s nursing program at their satellite campus at Conestoga College, she felt that Grebel was still her place. Fortunately, she was able to convince Mary Brubaker-Zehr, the Director of Student Services, to let her continue to live at the College until she graduated in 2008.

In her third year of nursing school, Gina completed an externship at SickKids Hospital. "It’s a paid internship for the summer – their way of recruiting new nurses to SickKids,” Gina explained. She was placed in the Short Stay Unit (SSU) and recalled, “I loved it there so much and I couldn’t see myself doing anything else.” At the end of the summer, Gina was offered a contract for a permanent position at SickKids after she graduated. When Gina became a Registered Nurse a year later, she moved to the Transplant Unit, "the sister unit of the SSU.” This section of the hospital was dedicated to solid organ transplants and served as the inpatient unit for patients who had problems with the transplants. “It was a very wide breadth of knowledge that I had to learn, which was a big challenge. It took me several years before I started to not feel scared going into work,” Gina explained. “But I loved it – I love working with the kids and the staff, who were so supportive.” 

Gina left on her second maternity leave after about ten years of working in the Transplant Unit, during which she experienced postpartum depression. “I always thought that motherhood would come naturally to me, not only as a pediatric nurse, but as the person I am – I’ve always wanted to be a mom,” she said. “I thought I would be really good at it, but I really struggled.” Gina, knowing that this was a serious, yet common issue that many mothers face, wanted to spread awareness through stories like her own. “There are good people, good moms out there that are struggling, and it's not abnormal.” 

Gina explained that due to her postpartum psychosis symptoms, part of her recovery journey included taking medications that resulted in her transfer back to the SSU. “I had to take them at a certain time every day and they would make me very sleepy, so shift work became off the table,” she described. Her career came full circle with the move back to where she had started nursing, and it is where she has remained for the last seven years. “It's a nurse-led unit – there are doctors on-call, but you have to be very strong in your knowledge, skill, and judgment,” Gina stated. 

“I like to get my hands dirty,” Gina said, “I really liked getting into all sorts of committees on the hospital and having a voice in a bunch of things.” One of those opportunities was the Registered Nurses’ Council, which served as the Board of Nurses at SickKids. “It's an elected position, representing your unit on the council,” Gina explained. “There are about 30 to 35 members on the council that represent each different clinical area in the hospital, who get together once a month. It's paid protective time for hospital improvement initiatives.” Gina was a member of the council when she worked in the Transplant Unit. After transferring to the SSU, she realized that they didn’t have a representative. "I advocated and got it started, and then was shoulder tapped to apply to be the co-chair of the whole Council.”  

"It's a halftime position in which we attend every committee meeting possible that needs a nursing voice. We are essentially two nurses that represent all of the nurses,” Gina described. “It's a very big responsibility, especially because we're non-unionized.” Through this position, Gina investigates practice issues that affect nurses, including pensions, benefits, and professional development “Nurses have been really burnt out, especially after COVID,” Gina remarked. “It's a been a hard time to be a nurse and we're trying to get nurses to remember their ‘why’ – why they started nursing, why they love nursing, and to remember that when they go to work.” 

“I feel extremely honoured to have to have been elected to this position and to be representing the 2,000 nurses and their interests when it comes to the larger conversations,” Gina stated. She explained that, sharing this responsibility with her co-chair, she continued to work half-time on the SSU. “I am still required to have bedside experience to stay grounded in the current issues,” she explained.

This summer, Gina will be participating in another compassionate initiative, where she will swim 15 kilometers to raise money for cancer research. Outside of her hospital positions, Gina also likes to hike and be outside with her family. “We go camping a lot, and have lots of gatherings and parties,” Gina said. “Spending time with friends and neighbours, getting to know my neighbours – I still love living in a community and to me, having a community around me is so important.”

Gina credits Grebel for much of the joy in her life. “Grebel gave me roots of community,” she said. “I probably wouldn't have ended up with my husband, my circle of support, or the confidence in myself of being a human of value. I felt like I learned who I was there – it was such a safe place where I could be who I was.” 

“I would love to tell students to concentrate on your studies, but just go and get involved!” Gina instead advised current students to “get in there, get dirty, and go to all the events – show up and be wholeheartedly there. It’s easy to disengage sometimes, but if you go with an open heart and an open mind, you’ll make that community and find your people.” 

“We are all just a puzzle made up of pieces we know and love,” Gina said. “A huge part of my puzzle is made from pieces I got from Grebel – not only my husband, but the friends I made, and the teachers who were so kind and loving.

By Natasha Forth

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Gina Nighswander Driedger completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at McMaster’s satellite campus at Conestoga College while living at Grebel in the early 2000s. She works as a Registered Nurse at SickKids, in the Short Stay Unit and as the co-chair of the Registered Nurses’ Council. She lives in Toronto on the Danforth with her husband, David Driedger (BES 2008), and their two sons, Henry and Andrew. 

Gina's story is part of Grebel's 60 Stories for 60 Years project. Check out our 60 Stories page for more articles in this series. If you would like to nominate a Grebel alumnus to share about their experiences at Grebel, please submit a nomination form.