JOHN TABLASON (BScN 2016) SPENDS HIS WORKDAYS SAVING LIVES AT HONOLULU’S QUEEN’S HOSPITAL. At the same time, he’s helping TRU nursing students thrive back in Canada.
Inspired by a philanthropist who helped him when he was a TRU student, Tablason wanted to do the same. He completed his BScN in 2016 and by 2019 was funding an annual award to assist nursing students following a similar path. With a recent $25,000 donation, he has established the John Tablason Nursing Excellence and Critical Care Certification Award, creating an endowed fund that ensures the impact of his generosity carries on for generations.
“When I graduated, I was awarded the Ken Lepin Nursing Excellence Award and that was like winning the Nobel Prize to me,” Tablason says. “It meant so much, and I’m truly grateful for the opportunity to give back to the School of Nursing and the community of Kamloops that shaped so much of who I am.”
Now well established in his nursing career, Tablason admits health care was not his first choice. Initially planning to join the Kamloops Fire Department, Tablason’s path shifted after years of rigorous attempts and close calls. Throughout that time, he worked as a paid-on-call firefighter, where he often found himself handling medical emergencies. It was in that role he felt called to health care.
“I’m a people person,” he says. “I wanted a career where I could help people.”
That decision brought him to TRU, where he began his journey to a career in nursing. Exploring where to specialize led Tablason to critical care nursing, an area that encompasses a broad range of possibilities—from the intensive care unit to the emergency department. He took several critical care courses while at TRU and then completed his certification post-graduation, quickly learning that this credential is the key that opens doors to specialized roles in the ICU, post-anesthesia care unit and the ER—not just locally, but around the world.
It’s been a few years since Tablason started working at Queen’s Medical Centre, the state’s only level one trauma centre. A committed lifelong learner, he has earned multiple certifications and is now a board-certified emergency nurse.
Whether in health care or another field, he envisions a bright, meaningful path ahead–one in which helping others undoubtedly plays a central role.
THE TRU PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE RECOGNIZES EXTRAORDINARY CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE UNIVERSITY—specifically, cumulative financial donations of $100,000 and above. In September 2024, 15 new members were inducted into the President’s Circle. One of them was President Emeritus Alan Shaver, who served as TRU’s third president and vice-chancellor from 2011-2018. He is now officially part of the circle of support he once helped build.
A long-time contributor to the university, Shaver gave his first gift to TRU before his installation had even taken place. He has been giving ever since and became the first TRU president to become a member of the circle when he was welcomed by his successor, Brett Fairbairn, TRU’s fourth president and vice-chancellor.
Being invited into a group of TRU’s most generous philanthropists was a powerful full-circle moment.
“I never imagined a president being in the President’s Circle,” he said. “It’s a huge honour to be included among a group of people I admire so much.”
Inspired by his own experience receiving financial support as a student, Shaver sees philanthropy as a way to help others reach their potential. The first in his family to attend university, he acknowledges much of his own success came as a direct result of being given a chance. Since then, he’s been committed to paying it forward.
“We help people and then they help their successors,” he said. “It creates a chain of support.”
The President’s Circle was established in 2010 to recognize donors’ lifelong contributions to TRU in a more intimate way and to encourage them to maintain a long-term close affiliation with the university.
Total donations from the donors inducted in September 2024 represent over $2 million while donations from all 114 President’s Circle members represents $64 million.
