"While I was growing up, my best friend’s father was both a nurse and a positive role model. I learned that nursing can offer vast knowledge, rare experiences, and financial success. The pros to a career in nursing were many; however, it did not appear to be without some downsides. Society seemed to portray nurses as 'doctors’ assistants,' taking notes and passing surgical tools. A friend once asked me, ‘Don’t you want to be a doctor?’ I struggled with the possibility of settling for less. Luckily, I took my chance in nursing and found far more opportunity than I had been led to expect. Health care is built by nurses in various settings, from surgery and critical care to clinics and schools. We are staff employees, scholars, administrators and directors. We are professionals and the absolute best at what we do. To answer my friend’s question: Yes, I do want to be a doctor, a doctor of nursing practice."

Jake Tanel 
A.S. Nursing, '11 
B.S. Nursing, '13 

"I was working as a professional ski patroller in Colorado when a young girl was involved in an accident. Surrounded by fellow ski patrollers, nurses, doctors and the flight-for-life crew, we were all collectively working to save this girl’s life. At that moment, I realized I wanted more out of my life. Typically we would get a patient to the clinic and that was it; we never heard the outcome. But with this incident, I was there helping to make sure everything possible was done for the patient. That night, I knew I needed to become a nurse."

Whitney Baker, '17 
Nursing student