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October Eagle Award winner Roberta Valella Podbilski is a nursing instructor for Dakota College of Bottineau and works at the Minot campus. Podbilski was nominated for a Minot Area Chamber EDC Eagle Award by one of her students, Amber Burkey.
Burkey submitted the nomination because Podbilski spent five hours on her weekend off to help her and other students practice their nursing skills. Podbilski said the students were having a busy week with lots of exams and clinicals at the hospital, and she wanted to ensure her students felt prepared for upcoming skill checks.
Podbilski has been in healthcare since she was 15 years old, starting as a certified nursing assistant in Nevada. Her father was in the Air Force, and they came to Minot in 1991. Her mother was a nurse, and Podbilski knew she was going to follow in her footsteps someday.
This year marks 20 years of nursing for Podbilski. She graduated as an licensed practical nurse in 2003 through the Dakota Nursing program, became a registered nurse two years later and later completed a master's degree in nursing. She was working at Trinity Hospital until January 2021, when she started instructing for DCB.
Podbilski had always been interested in instructing. She said she always enjoyed working with people and showing them how to do nursing care and procedures.
"I want people to understand that nursing is hard work, and I want them to be able to do it right so I've always wanted to be an instructor, even when I was a new nurse. I always looked up to my instructors. They always seemed so much larger than life. They knew everything," Podbilski said.
Burkey said that, as a student, she appreciates Podbilski's dedication to her students' success.
"Roberta is a truly remarkable instructor. She genuinely cares about her students and is incredibly passionate, dedicated and hardworking. It's inspiring to see someone who goes above and beyond to ensure the success and well-being of her students. Her sense of humor adds an extra touch of warmth and makes the learning experience even more enjoyable," Burkey said.
Podbliski said she has a lot of confidence in her students and that she appreciates the fire they have for nursing. She feels confident her students are going to succeed in the field.
"I want them to know that it's always going to get better. What they've chosen to do is such an amazing thing - to be a nurse. Being a nurse is one of the greatest gifts I've ever been given - to take care of people. I want them to know that the days are going to be hard and they're going to be rough and they're going to wonder 'Why am I doing this?' but there is going to be that moment that comes up - that one patient, that one family member that's going to come up to them and thank them for being who they are. It's going to get better. I want them to realize what they're doing is going to take them so far beyond who they are today," Podbilski said.
Eagle Awards announced
The Minot Area Chamber EDC has announced the recipients of its Eagle Awards for October.
They are: Roberta Valella Podbilski, Dakota College of Bottineau; Michael Hayes, Trinity Home Health; Lana Sanborn, Elison Assisted Living of Minot; Alexander Mershon, Wells Fargo; Brandon Tollefson, Tollefson's Carpetland; Austin Flax, Magic City Discovery Center; Aiden Cree, Burger King; Adam Cogdill, Tollefson's Carpetland; Krysta Mock, The Landing Bar & Bottle Shop; Sue Abernathy, Hobby Lobby; Cedric Smith, C and C Tree Service; Dawn Gullickson, Mainstream Boutique; Paige Wilkie, Olive Garden; and Ashley Perales, Longhorn Steakhouse.