President's Column: Every Voice. Every Story. Every Table.

I never imagined I would one day stand before thousands of nurses as president-elect of AACN. But when I look back, I can see how every experience in my life prepared me.

Long before I became a nurse, I learned what it meant to imagine possibility. As a little girl, I spent hours reading encyclopedias and dreaming about places and people far beyond my neighborhood. One day, my fourth-grade teacher asked us to write about our favorite animal. I chose a panda because it represented something I admired — quiet strength, resilience and the ability to thrive in places where it didn't naturally belong.

When my teacher told me I should have written about an animal I had actually seen, I questioned my own thinking. It was the first time I felt my voice diminished. Looking back, I realize it was also the beginning of a lifelong lesson: Our perspective has value, even when others don't immediately recognize it.

That lesson followed me into nursing.

As a nursing student, I failed Med-Surg Nursing, Part 1. Watching my classmates move ahead without me was heartbreaking. For a while, I wondered if I belonged in this profession at all. But failure became one of my greatest teachers. It forced me to study differently, ask more questions and build confidence through understanding instead of memorization. It taught me that failure is not a verdict — it is preparation.

When I became a new nurse, I encountered another kind of challenge. I knew how to care for patients, but I wasn't always sure I belonged. I wasn't invited into every conversation, and sometimes the silence around me was louder than words. Then one experienced nurse, Emma, pulled up a chair beside me and simply said, "Tonka, you belong here. Not someday. Today."

She changed more than my confidence. She changed how I think about leadership.

I believe there is a difference between belonging and mattering. Belonging means you're welcomed into the room. Mattering means your voice is expected, your expertise is trusted and your presence makes a difference. Every nurse deserves both.

Those beliefs began long before nursing. They began around my family's kitchen table, where stories were shared freely, opinions were welcomed and everyone had a place. That table taught me that leadership starts by listening, that different perspectives make us stronger and that belonging isn't something people earn, it's something we offer each other.

Today, I see healthcare as a collection of tables. Bedside tables. Nurses' stations. Breakrooms. Classrooms. Boardrooms. Conference tables where decisions are made every day that shape patient care and the future of our profession.

My hope is that every one of those tables becomes a place where nurses know their voices matter.

As the first Black president of AACN, I don't see my election as the destination. I see it as evidence of what's possible when leadership reflects the diversity, experience and perspectives of the nurses who care for patients every day. The more voices we welcome, the more we learn. The more stories we understand, the better we care. And the more seats we create at the table, the stronger our profession becomes.

That is why we chose the AACN theme Every Voice. Every Story. Every Table.

It reflects my beliefs about nursing.

Every voice matters because nurses see what others may miss and speak up before moments become crises.

Every story matters because our experiences shape the compassion, resilience and wisdom we bring to every patient and every colleague.

Every table matters because where decisions are made should include the people closest to the patient.

Throughout my presidency, I hope to encourage nurses to trust their expertise, speak with confidence, lift one another up and intentionally make room for others. We all have the opportunity to pull up a chair, mentor another nurse and create environments where they know they belong and know they matter.

My story is one among thousands. The future of nursing will never be shaped by one voice. It will be built by all of us — through the courage to speak, the willingness to listen and the commitment to make room for every voice, every story and every table.

Who will you invite to sit at your table? Share with me at EveryVoiceEveryStoryEveryTable@aacn.org.