Originally from Dubuque, Iowa, I graduated from Simpson College with a BA in Rhetoric & Speech. I originally planning to be an analyst with the CIA, but, during my senior year in college, I had a life changing moment. My roommate had a grand mal seizure one day in front of me, and I had to do some quick thinking to help her. The feeling was so intense I knew I needed to completely change my path and go into nursing, so I did. I never looked back, and I have no regrets.
I moved to the south in 2002 to attend Watts School of Nursing after graduating from Simpson College. At the time, Watts was located in Duke Regional Hospital, and Peggy Walters was one of my teachers. I spent the next 10-plus years learning from the best in the ICU as a staff nurse and charge nurse. I received my BSN from the University of Alabama in 2018.
I chose Duke to continue my advanced practice journey because of the interactions I've had with their graduates. The Duke nurse practitioners that I have had the pleasure of working with are some of the brightest and most caring individuals. They have a unique ability to be both brilliant critical thinkers and have a caring bedside manner. That's not an accident, as DUSON has played a huge role in developing this type of provider. I knew I wanted to be that type of provider.
I would like to graduate from DUSON and work in critical care with the best of the best. Providing care for patients and their families in such an intense environment is difficult on a good day, but I can't imagine doing anything else more fulfilling!