When I decided to pursue nursing, I wanted to follow the family path. My mom is an RN who graduated from St. Kate’s. Plus, I just really liked the school. My mom was so excited. She had a couple sweatshirts from when she was in the program, and now I literally wear one of my mom’s old school sweatshirts on exam day. Every time, I’m like, ‘Hey, she passed her exams. I can do this, too.’ My dream is to work in critical care—ICU or IMC. I also have a strong interest in transplant center care.
I come from a small town and went to a private Catholic elementary school. I knew I preferred a smaller community and class sizes. I didn’t want to be just one of the students, I wanted to make a name for myself. I also love the diversity here and learning about other cultures.
Right away, I took advantage of the Student Nursing Association, a student-led club on campus. The goal is to make friends with people you might not sit with in class. When I had the opportunity to be a representative my junior year, I said absolutely! I want to use my leadership skills as best as I can.
Another opportunity is I can take ACTC classes—for me, band—at St. Thomas. Band was something I did in high school that I wanted to continue in college. I’m so incredibly happy I did, as it’s a break from studying anatomy and diseases. It’s something fun I do purely for my own enjoyment.
I love going to an all-women’s school. Just because it’s all women doesn’t mean it’s teaching an old-fashioned perspective. It fosters an environment for women’s voices to be heard. Like the St. Kate’s motto, it gives women the space ‘to lead and influence.’ To foster themselves as individuals.
I work in the healthcare industry now as a Nursing Assistant. It does cross my mind that the health care I’m going into is vastly different than when I first started college. But there have been so many medical advancements because of this pandemic, it makes me excited to see how many more treatments we can come up with to help our community. The possibilities are endless.
When you say, ‘I came through nursing at St. Kate’s,’ there’s a reputation where people just know that school’s been around a long time and that’s a good program. Not only does it take a long time to build a program, it takes time to build the reputation that you produce quality RNs. That’s the reputation St. Kate’s gives off. And that’s something I definitely want to have when I graduate. I want that name behind me.