To help kick off 2024, Lancaster Bible College welcomed a new Campus Nurse, Melissa Sauder. She looks forward to incorporating her healthcare experience within the college’s Health & Wellness Center, located in Upper Miller Hall and open 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Fridays. Learn more about Nurse Melissa in the Q&A below.
LANCASTER BIBLE COLLEGE: Please tell us about your experience in the healthcare field.
MELISSA SAUDER: I enjoy caring for people of all ages with any type of need. I’ve worked in family medicine most of my nursing career, working with people from pediatric to geriatric age with various types of medical conditions. Right after I graduated nursing school, I worked on a postpartum unit where I cared for mothers, newborns and their families to help navigate their new life together and promote health and wellness as a family. A few years ago, I was blessed to participate in a medical mission trip to Africa, where I worked to treat medical needs as well as spiritual needs. I hope to participate in medical mission trips in the future so I can care for medical needs while helping to advance the gospel and fulfill the Great Commission. This is truly where my heart lies in the work I do—to merge medical care with the Christian faith.
LBC: What are your passions when it comes to the health and wellness of college students?
MS: I am a firm believer in the power of preventative care and making wise health decisions. There is always something new to learn and a way you can help yourself to live a healthier life. I believe the college years are a foundational, formative time of great growth, and I’m eager to help the students feel better when they are ill, connect them with resources they might need to continue to heal, and equip them with knowledge to help guide them to wise decisions that positively affect their health for years to come. No matter where a student may be, there is always room for growth and a way to find a positive solution.
LBC: What are you most looking forward to about being part of the LBC community?
MS: I am eager to a be a part of a community that cares deeply about their students and the Christian environment they live and learn in, to help cultivate a biblical worldview and proclaim Christ by serving Him in the church and society. Students are going to make incredible impacts in the world once they leave LBC, and hopefully I can help that impact be a positive one. Helping students stay healthy, make positive health choices, and equip them with the knowledge to do so will hopefully help them along this journey!
LBC: Can you share some of the wellness initiatives you have planned for LBC students?
MS: I look forward to working with student clubs, organizations and residence life to hold discussion talks on current health trends and topics the students would like to know more about. This can be through various methods, including stall talk topic sheets, Health Hub emails, Health Highlights discussion sessions or Ask the Nurse walk and talks. Plus, LBC has a Recharge Wellness Week planned for Feb. 27-29 in the Student Center with various activities and information booths on health topics. Our goal is to bring relevant health information to the students to help them lead healthy lives!