Kent State Today will be following a group of six Golden Flashes for the 2024-25 academic year chronicling their efforts and successes during the fall and spring semesters. The group of students are at various places in their Kent State University academic careers and will share their experiences throughout the year as they take part in our distinctive programs, research and global experiences.
Read our first article about Lapikas and our other “Year With a Flash” students here.
The one place that service dog-in-training Knox doesn’t follow Rylie Lapikas, a junior nursing student in the Honors College, to is her “clinicals.”
Nursing students at Kent State get the opportunity to participate in clinical rotations – also referred to simply as “clinicals” – working in real-world healthcare settings starting in the second semester of their sophomore year. This hands-on learning experience continues every semester until graduation.
The area of medicine changes each semester and aligns with the class the nursing student is taking that particular semester. For the past two semesters, Lapikas did her clinicals in “med surge,” or medical surgery, at a local hospital. Lapikas spent time working in the emergency room and on the oncology floor. For spring semester, her clinicals will be split between seven weeks in labor and delivery and seven weeks in pediatrics.
Lapikas said she likes the exposure to different areas of nursing that she gets through the clinicals and how that will help her develop as a nurse.
“It’s been really nice to see both sides of the inpatient care versus the emergency room care,” she said.
Lapikas’ caring nature is evident in her desire to become a pediatric oncology nurse, and in how she spends her spare time – volunteering with Freedom Paws, where she trains service dogs. She is currently vice president of the organization's Kent State chapter, and training Knox to become a future service dog. He goes with her everywhere (except her clinicals) as part of his training so he can become acclimated to caring for his companion in a variety of different environments.
Between 16 credit hours of coursework, working in the emergency room and teaching yoga at the Warren Student Wellness and Recreation Center on campus, Lapikas has a lot on her plate. But Knox is there to offer her cuddles and stress relief while he learns how to help those with disabilities and health conditions. It’s a win-win situation.
Training Knox serves Lapikas well in her nursing training too, since she has had to learn to pick up on nonverbal cues and body language in communicating with the service dogs she has trained. There are times when patients can’t always verbalize their needs either and training service dogs helps Lapikas tune into that.
“I’ve gotten really good at watching for different cues, especially because I can’t physically talk to Knox, and I feel like that’s definitely helped me pick up on that with patients more too,” she said.
Lapikas’ observant, curious and compassionate personality stood out to her mentor Lindsay Slack when they first met at Kent’s H20 Church.
“She’s a very curious person,” said Slack, a staff member at H20 Church. “What I’ve noticed from the get-go is when she steps in, she steps in all the way. I feel like her heart is so big. She’s a nurse. It would have to be, you know? Then with Freedom Paws, she got involved to train a dog that you fall in love with and then give it away. I don’t know how someone does that.”
Slack and Lapikas met in 2023 at H20 Church, which holds Sunday services in Bowman Hall. Comprised primarily of Kent State students, the congregation can also take part in bible study classes and mentorship programs during the week, which Lapikas has done. As Lapikas’ mentor, Slack gets to see her admirable character on display each week at H20 Church.
“She’s one of the people who sees a new person coming in and walks over and wants them to feel included,” Slack said. “Overall, Riley just sees people really well and wants to care for them.”
Top Featured Image: Rylie Lapikas, far left, with other future nurses at the National Student Nurses Association Annual Convention at Walt Disney World. (Photo courtesy of Rylie Lapikas.)