By Nikhitha Raigir
Twice a year, a familiar sight rolls onto the Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff campus: a gleaming Red Cross bloodmobile, ready to receive donors. And right alongside it, a group of nursing students who made it happen.
This spring's drive met its goal, continuing a tradition that has been building steadily since students and faculty first partnered with the Red Cross about two years ago. What started as a once-a-year effort quickly grew. Slots filled so fast that students pushed to add a second drive each year, one in January and one in April, just to meet the demand.
The partnership traces back to NAU's Student Nurses Association, whose president began looking for new ways to volunteer and reached out to the Red Cross. From there, public health students got involved too, and the momentum has only grown.
Assistant Clinical Professor Melissa Lyapustina has been part of the effort since the beginning. She joined NAU's College of Nursing in fall 2021 and has worked with public health students throughout her time there. For her, the blood drive is more than a service project. It is a window into a part of nursing that the classroom cannot always show.
"Sometimes in nursing school, they have tunnel vision, just taking their classes and working in the hospital. They'll be giving these bags of blood, and they don't really understand where they come from."
Melissa Lyapustina, Assistant Clinical Professor, NAU College of Nursing
The blood drive gives students a chance to see the whole picture: the advertising, the coordination with community partners, the logistics of a donation event. Whether they participate through the Student Nurses Association or through their public health clinical, they come away understanding the process from start to finish.
Lyapustina also donates at every drive herself. She grew up watching her father give blood and carries that example forward, both for her own children and for the students who look to her for guidance. "I figured this is important for me to show my own children," she said, "that a little bit of time can really change someone's life."
That instinct to lead by example runs through everything the program has built. It echoes across the whole effort, from the students staffing the registration table to the faculty rolling up their sleeves right alongside them. Students who once saw blood transfusions as a given now understand the community behind every bag. And in doing so, they become part of it.
On NAU's campus in Flagstaff, with every donation slot filled and smiles all around, the mission was clear. Ordinary people. Extraordinary impact.
Give Blood. Every two seconds, someone in America needs blood. One donation can save up to three lives. Schedule your appointment at RedCrossBlood.org.
Host a Drive. Want to bring a blood drive to your campus or organization? Partner with the Red Cross and make it happen. Learn more at redcross.org/local/az-nm.
Volunteer. From blood drives to disaster response, there is a place for you. Explore opportunities at redcross.org/local/az-nm/volunteer.
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