When a group of nursing students were out for lunch in Sydney, N.S., celebrating the end of their semester, they didn't expect to be moved to tears by the person at the next table.

The five friends were commiserating about the exam they'd just finished when a woman approached them, asked if they were nursing students, and put a $100 bill on the table.

"We were all just shocked," said Olivia Porter, a third-year nursing student at Cape Breton University. "All we could say was thank you. We didn't even get her name."

"All she knew was we were students going to join the workforce here in Nova Scotia," said Mary Anne Bennett, another third-year nursing student.

"She just dropped the money on the table, didn't wait for a thank you or anything. She just gave us a smile and walked out. I thought that was just so powerful, it honestly brought tears to my eyes."

Porter posted about the interaction on social media in the hopes the students' gratitude would get back to the mysterious donor.

The interaction got them wondering whether the woman herself was a nurse, had been in the care of one, or had a family member who was ill. Bennett said if she had the chance, she'd like to sit down with the woman to hear her story.

"We took it as, OK, what we're doing actually means something to more than just us. The health-care problem is a bigger issue than we realize ... it was an eye-opening moment," Bennett said.

"I don't think words can explain how we felt," Porter said. "We were so grateful, and we just felt seen almost for the first time in years."

Having started the nursing program in 2020, their first year was entirely virtual.

Since moving to in-person learning in the midst of the province's nursing shortage, Porter said she's seen how registered nurses in her program are impacted. That's because experienced nurses often have to take on two students instead of one when they supervise student nurses in a clinical setting, called a preceptorship.

"[But] I can't see myself doing anything else ... it's a very rewarding education and career, and I think people who are able to see that are amazing souls."

As for the hundred dollars, the friends split it five ways – before heading their separate ways for their final clinical placements ahead of graduation.