2023 President's Award
This award honors an alumnus who has continually demonstrated outstanding service to the nursing profession, the school, and the alumni association and is widely recognized by their peers.
About Cheryl Day
A native Galvestonian, Cheryl C. Day has spent the majority of her personal and professional life at The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) since graduating from Galveston College in 1972 as a registered nurse (RN).
She began her nursing career as an RN at St. Mary’s Hospital in Galveston and worked in the women’s unit, specifically focused on Labor & Delivery for five years.
In 1977, Ms. Day joined the UTMB family and quickly realized she found her permanent professional home. After 44 years at UTMB, she has served in multiple nursing positions and assumed a number of leadership roles in the Women’s, Infants’ & Children’s Nursing Department.
In addition to her primary nursing positions, Ms. Day would assume positions, such as Adjunct Faculty and Clinical Instructor, at the UTMB School of Nursing (SON) that spanned over the course of her nursing career. Patient care, staff advocacy, and teaching nursing students were equally important to her, and she worked diligently to maintain a focus on those aspects in her nursing practice.
Ms. Day earned her Bachelor of Science Degree (BSN) in Nursing in 1987 and her Master of Science Degree in Executive Nursing in 1990. She also holds a Post-Master of Science Degree in High-Risk Obstetrics. These degrees earned at UTMB enhanced her ability to continue her pursuit of excellence in the Nursing Services Department and the SON.
She joined the UTMB SON as a full-time faculty as an Assistant Professor in 1998 teaching the Obstetrical course in the BSN program. In 1999, she was selected to assume the role of Assistant Dean for Student Affairs.
Currently, Ms. Day is an Assistant Professor in the BSN program and teaches three courses that allow her to have a direct impact on the education of nursing students on a full-time basis. For several years in a row, the BSN students have awarded Ms. Day the “Outstanding Faculty Award” at the school’s annual commencement ceremony.
Her awards include induction into the SON Alumni Association Hall of Fame in 1998, recipient of The Betty Lee Evans Nursing Excellence Award at the SON in 2017, and a Living Legend award honoree from Dr. Ben Raimer, President of UTMB Healthcare Systems in 2022.
In closing, Ms. Day reminds her students of a famous quote by Maya Angelou, which reads, “People/Patients will forget what you said, people/patients will forget what you did, but people/patients will never forget how you made them feel!”