Staff Profile of the Month: April 2009

UW legacy staff member and volunteer nominated for award

By Ashley Wiggin

Victoria Harrell’s Husky roots run deep. She is part of the fourth generation of women in her family to work at or attend the UW, and her family has a long history of UW diplomas, including her great grandmother and her grandmother (a School of Nursing MS grad).

“I always wanted to work at the University,” she said. “It’s a wonderful community, and I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of it.”

Recently nominated for a Celebrating UW Women award, Victoria is lauded by colleagues as professional, accessible and dedicated to the University and SON. Her nomination essay notes: “Although housed in one department, she is admired and respected across nursing departments; she is apolitical, a patriot of the school.” Her nomination also celebrates her involvement in the school and the University in general, and applauds her commitment to serving her community.

Victoria is particularly passionate about groups at the UW that reflect her Native American heritage. Her involvement includes roles in the Native American Faculty and Staff of UW (NAFSUW) and First Nations, a UW student group for which she volunteers. Half Cherokee and half Lakota Indian, Victoria has seen Native American students struggle in school and enjoys the opportunity to help youth feel more connected and encouraged to excel. She was honored by First Nations as an exceptional UW woman last year.

“I feel it is very important for younger students, especially those hailing from underprivileged communities, to have visibility of and contact with people from a similar background,” she said. “Drawing upon the experiences of those who have faced and overcome the very challenges they are now facing for themselves can be an invaluable tool for any student feeling overwhelmed.”

Outside of her work at the UW, Victoria is active in other communities as well. For 12 years, Victoria sang in a professional choir. Although she is not currently involved in a music group, she hopes to record music of her own at some point. She also volunteers with a Native youth theater group, Red Eagle Soaring.

“Music is an international language,” she said. “You can have impactful cross-cultural communication through music, even if you don’t always understand the language.”

Born in Anchorage, Alaska, Victoria grew up in the Eastside suburb of Woodinville. After starting at the UW in 2003 in the School of Medicine’s Allergy and Infectious Diseases (AID) division, Victoria joined BNHS in 2004 to work for Chair Margaret Heitkemper. Despite the economic challenges currently faced by BNHS and the University, Victoria maintains her vision of a bright future for herself, the school and the many individuals who pass through the SON.

“We [BNHS] are working together to be more effective and efficient in the face of old and new challenges alike, and we expect our extra focused efforts will help us sustain the high level of excellence in which we pride ourselves, despite an increasingly constrained operating environment,” she said.

Victoria lives in South Everett with her boyfriend – himself a 2005 UW graduate -- and their three dogs, one cat, one turtle, five frogs and a couple fish. She loves outdoor activities such as hiking and camping in Neah Bay, as well as singing, cooking, crafting and spending time with those she loves. 

To learn more about First Nations, please visit http://students.washington.edu/fnuw/ or Red Eagle Soaring, http://www.redeaglesoaring.com/Redeaglesoaring.html.