The students from HBU shown below, spent two weeks at the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen May 23rd to June 4th. They had a chance to see many parts of Scotland, to visit the Lord and Lady Provost at Aberdeen Town House and were given a tour of the house. They were entertained in homes and honored with a dinner by the Grampian-Houston Association. They are from left to right, Mili Valkharia and Susan Ryder.

The Student Nurses sponsored by Grampian-Houston, from Aberdeen were in Houston at The College of Nursing at Houston Baptist University for two weeks, October 9 - 22, 2005. Shown below are, left to right, Karen Jones, Marlene McLeod and Lindsay Vallance.

A reception was held at HBU for the Visiting Nurses from Aberdeen shortly after their arrival and they are shown below with their Houston hosts from HBU and the Houston Grampian Association. From left to right are Marti McWhirter, Karen Jones, Lindsay Vallance, Mary Metz, Mili Valkharia, Susan Ryder and Quin McWhirter.

Below is essentially the same cast of characters without Mary Metz, but with the addition of Dr. Nancy Yuill, Dean of Nursing at Houston Baptist University, who is shown at the right of the photo.

A dinner was held to honor them on October 19, at the Houston Marriott Westchase Hotel, giving them an opportunity to share their experiences. Attendees at the dinner included Judith Slater, Brithish Consul General and her husband, Philip de Waal, Mitch Jeffrey, Vice Consul, Press & Public/Political Affairs, and Alma Maldonado, Protocol Manager and Sister Cities Coordinator for the City of Houston. She presented gifts to student nurses from Aberdeen on behalf of Houston Mayor Bill White. Dr. Nancy Yuill is shown below introducing the students, who discussed their experiences during their visits, and compared the nursing systems in Houston to those in Aberdeen, and then answered questions from the audience.

 

They were in Aberdeen from May20th until June 7th, 2004, and are from left to right, Andrea Shaw and Yvonne Aldas.

In Aberdeen, activities were intense and continuous, but educational and fun as always. Here are Andrea and Yvonne with our Aberdeen constituents. In the photo below from left to right, are Amy and Evelyn (Aberdeen Nurses), Marlene McLeod, Jenni Parry (Head of School), Yvonne, Andrea, and Caroline MacDonald, lecturer at RGU.

And here are Amy and Evelyn prior to leaving for Houston, with Jimmy Hay, Marlene McLeod and Caroline MacDonald.

In 2003, our student nurses were Meredith Web Townsend and Krystal Dyan Weber. They are shown below with (L - R) Dr. Nancy Yuill, Dean of the College of Nursing at Houston Baptist University and Mary Metz, Education Chairman for HGA. They had an excellent visit to Aberdeen and worked and played hard while there.

In October, we received the visiting nurses from Aberdeen and they are shown in the photo below. (L - R) In the photo are Pete Wimpenny, Administrator of the Nursing Program at The Robert Gordon University, student nurses Kimberley Forbes and Ashley Wallace, and Marlene McLeod, Education Chairman for the Grampian Houston Association.

Their visit culminated with the annual dinner for Ashley and Kim, which was held at the Braeburn Country Club on October 15th. We were honored to have with us The British Consul General, Iain Murray and his wife Norma. After dinner Meredith and Krystal, our Houston/Grampian students gave a brief summary of their activities while in Aberdeen and Kimberley and Ashley, the Grampian-Houston students responded with a summary of their activities while in Houston. This was followed by a lively question and answer session and expressions of appreciation at being able to participate in this exchange program. This is the ninth year that the Aberdeen and Houston Sister City organizations have participated in this endeavor.

Shown below are the student nurses from Houston and Aberdeen and some of their hosts from Houston. In the first photo, in the front from left to right, are Meredith, Krystal, Ashley and Kimberley, and behind them are Ian Murry and his wife Norma.

In the second photo, shown below, are Krystal, Ashley, Dr.Nancy Yuill, Mary Metz, Meredith and Kimberley.