>> I've always wanted to be a nurse or a teacher so now I get to do both.
So I am a graduate of a diploma program and I know that they're going away but I graduated
from St. Joseph Hospital School of Nursing in Lancaster which did close their doors in 96.
From there I did attend Millersville University to acquire my Bachelors Program.
Like many nurses, the same kind of path, I went working full time, going to school part time.
Took me four years to get my Bachelors but I got it, going part time.
And then I went right into my Master's Program because I knew I wanted to teach.
I've always bounced back and forth between administrative and teaching positions and found
that I really loved and my passion is teaching.
So I went right on for my Master's Degree, again,
working full time, going to school part time.
Finished that.
Took me 3 1/2 years and then took a break.
And then I knew if I wanted to be able to continue teaching I was going
to need to have the terminal degree.
So I did go back and acquire my PhD in Education with a specialization in Nursing Education.
So that, whatever or wherever I want to teach will help open doors for me that I can be able
to teach, which is what I love to do.
I was very fortunate when I was in middle school to have a wonderful role model
in the school nurse at the middle school.
So to kind of hide from some peer pressure that, I would say victim is not the right word,
but some issues that were happening that, you know, the middle school age,
I used to go to the nurses office and she was just wonderful.
She taught me how to take vital signs.
She helped me learn how to do little simple assessment skills.
I would help her file things.
And she was just a wonderful role model for me.
And she had a friend who was the volunteer coordinator at a local nursing home
so she hooked me up with her and I started volunteering
at the nursing home as a Candy Striper.
And from there kind of went, because then I enjoyed what I was doing there
and then I was fortunate enough that institution sent me to nurse aide training from there
and then they helped pay for my education and my pre-licensure program.
I came back and worked for them as a charge nurse and just kind of snowballed from there so.