Dyson College of Arts and Sciences

www.pace.edu/ccar 18 An Interview with Jefferson Gold Award Winner, Jacqueline Cassagnol Jacqueline Cassagnol, a third year PhD in Nursing student in the College of Health Professions who founded an international first responder organization, has won a 2020 Jefferson Award. The prestigious national honor recognizes America's top change-makers and ordinary citizens who are doing extraordinary acts of public service. In selecting Cassagnol for a National Award for Outstanding Public Service, Multiplying Good, the nonprofit organization that administers the awards, cited the Rockland County resident's on- the-ground, life-saving volunteer work in Haiti and her subsequent creation of Worldwide Community First Responder, Inc. (WCFR), which provides health education and first-aid and disaster preparedness training to people in the United States and Haiti. Since the organization was established in 2011, it has educated and trained more than 350,000 individuals in critical life-saving skills. What sparked your commitment to this work? After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, I joined a group of health-care professionals to give first-aid training in Haiti. While I was doing my session, one of the students said, "If only we knew what you are teaching us right now, fewer people would have died." This statement touched me so deeply that I broke down in tears.... I realized then that I must continue doing more of this type of lifesaving work. A fire awakened inside me and led me to create the nonprofit organization. Although WCFR is currently focused on the US and Haiti, our long-term goal is to cover the entire globe. This is only our beginning. How has this work informed your Pace experience and vice versa? I am pursuing a PhD in Nursing at Pace University to become the nurse leader that I always wanted to be. Pursuing a PhD in Nursing at Pace University has exposed me to many new opportunities. I enjoy being mentored by the most dynamic nursing leaders and scholars. They have inspired me to conduct research on disaster preparedness in Haiti. My topic of interest is "Haitian Nurses' Perceptions About Disaster Nursing and Preparedness." I have had the opportunity to increase awareness of WCFR. and get more support to meet our mission "to prevent deaths worldwide through education and training." What advice do you have for students thinking of incorporating community work into their goals? I would advise students to volunteer their energy and skills to an organization in their community. It is a great way to give back and will expose them to great opportunities. Local organizations will benefit from their time. They will make a difference.

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