Pine Island resident honored at Keuka College

Pine Island resident Holly Purta, a sophomore nursing major, was recently honored at Keuka College, where she won the First-Year Field Period Experiential Learner of the Year award, presented to her at Honors Convocation on May 4. Holly pursued a Field Period internship at the Valley View Center for Nursing Care and Rehabilitation in Goshen, N.Y.

Holly has wanted to be a nurse since preschool and is a second-generation Keukonian and a fourth-generation nurse-in-the-making. Her mother, Beth Lysack Purta ’01, is a director of nursing, and her grandmother and her aunt were also in the profession.

“It just runs in the family,” she says.

During Holly’s Field Period internship at the Valley View Center for Nursing Care and Rehabilitation in Goshen, N.Y., she got to observe and assist in a range of clinical practices – from wound treatment to infusion therapy to dementia care. But what proved most meaningful for Holly was shadowing a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP).

“I saw just how important communication is in supporting patients and ensuring they get the best care,” said the Pine Island resident. “Nursing and mental health advocacy both hold such a special place in my heart, and now I’m clear about my goal of becoming a PMHNP.”

Deidre Anchorstar, Holly’s Field Period advisor, remarked: “She approached the opportunity with exceptional enthusiasm and engagement, and she returned eager to reflect on and share all that she learned.”

Outside of class and fieldwork, Holly stays busy as the vice president of Keuka College Active Minds – a club that promotes mental wellness on campus – and host of the Hopeful Hearts Podcast. Now in its second season, the show’s latest episode features an in-depth conversation with fellow KC students about burnout in helping professions.