Keith was in the back of an ambulance — the nearest hospital 2.5 hours away — when he learned that lesson. He was an EMT caring for an injured man, and he had to keep the man talking during that long, dark ride to keep him conscious. “He was a businessman,” Keith says about his patient. “He’d had a long career. He’s laying there on that stretcher, and he says, ‘I’ve been rich, and I’ve been poor. But my education is the only thing no one can ever take away from me. It’s the only thing you can take with you when you go.’”

It’s a mantra Keith never forgot.

A student of non-traditional age

For 26 years, Keith focused on raising a family and running a business. “From the time I was young, I was interested in science,” he says. “I had a chemistry set in second grade, and built a telescope in fourth grade. As I got older, in high school, I lost interest in learning. Then I got married, became a father, started a business, and put science aside for 26 years. Once my son and wife both went through school, I figured it was finally my turn.”

Related resource: 7 Tips for Going Back to School Later in Life

Keith went back to school and became an EMT. He was soon training other EMTs and developed an interest in emergency medicine. He chose Joyce to complete his RN degree and immediately went on to get his BSN.

“Now, the dilemma is choosing!” he says, and clearly the choice delights him. “Education, advanced practical nursing, or nurse administration. The other day, I got a call from a chief nurse who wants me to go into management!”

Choosing the next step

Keith chose Joyce after combing through pass rates and satisfaction rates. He noted the school’s low turnover. And he liked that Joyce is a dedicated healthcare University. If he applied at a traditional university, he knew he’d have to wait to get into a nursing program. “I was two-thirds of the way through my nursing degree before others even got an acceptance letter to the nursing program at their university,” he says. “At my age, I couldn’t spend that amount of time just waiting to get in.”

At age 53, Keith was afraid he would be the oldest in his class. He wasn’t.

Related resource: 5 Reasons Men Should Consider a Career in Nursing

Like many Americans, the economic downturn prompted him to look at other options. Once in school, his classmates included construction workers, real estate agents, musicians — and of course, young recent high school graduates.

Keith is sympathetic toward his younger classmates. “They work so hard: raising kids, struggling to be parents and partners — you just do the best you can because when it’s over, it’s over. That’s all you get. Don’t do it just to get through it; appreciate education along the way. We don’t all get these opportunities.”

A community of support for lifelong learning

The ambitious nurse credits many of his teachers for inspiring him to continue his education.

“We have great examples of lifelong learners all around us. Doctor [RN-BSN instructor Kathy] Holloway went back to school after her kids were grown. Dr. [Shirl] Smith grew up in the streets of New York and couldn’t read as a teen, but went on to get multiple degrees, including a doctorate degree!

“I didn’t even realize I was a lifelong learner until I saw myself in these other people. We have so many great examples all around us. People encouraged me all the time, but especially when I went to school. I had that innate desire to learn. I think most of us do.”

Related resource: How Single Parents Can Manage a Nursing Career

Keith echoes the sentiment of many students. “[Joyce’s instructors] are so concerned about you being successful and the experience you had there,” he says. “Dr. Holloway and I still write to each other, and Dr. Popovich is still involved and interested in my career. They have introduced me to recruiters, sent information on other schools … they’re still involved, long after graduation. They don’t have to be, but they are.”

These days, Keith works in the catheterization lab at Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Orem, Utah, where he completed his capstone project.

While in school, he took every opportunity to learn: circulating, taking and administering vitals, charting. “When you’re doing your capstone,” he says, “it’s basically a months-long interview. You’re being watched. … I was lucky, there was a job in the Cath Lab posted about the time I was scheduled to take the NCLEX. Because of my work in capstone, I was encouraged to apply. I basically had a job offer pending passing the NCLEX..”

Keith gave a moving commencement speech for Joyce’s graduating nursing class of 2016. We are proud to be a part of Keith’s lifelong learning process.

Joyce has the highest respect and admiration for all our students, and we strive to support them in the way that best suits them. To learn more about our, RN to BSN program or our many other nursing programs.

is the face of occupational therapy (OT) on YouTube. She speaks about a wide range of topics relating to OT on her channel, so we spoke with her about what it means to work in occupational therapy, and the roles of OTAs.

How did you get involved with occupational therapy?

I initially did my undergrad in kinesiology with intentions of pursuing an advanced degree in physical therapy, but something was still missing from physical therapy that I wasn’t connecting to.

There was an incident with a family member who became very ill. And when I went to visit them in the ICU, I recognized that she was going to need a lot of rehab. So I started to look at the other disciplines that make up the rehab team. I found out about occupational therapy, and the more I read about it the more I thought, “This is what I’m looking for.” The next thing I knew I was applying to a few programs.

How would you define occupational therapy?

We work in so many different settings, but the most important thing about occupational therapy is that we help people engage in things that occupy their time. So for children that could be playing or being a student. For someone in the military, their service duties. For a person who is older, it could be being a grandparent and being able to fulfill those roles. Whatever it is that occupies your time.

So, whenever there’s an incident or maybe someone’s born with a disability or condition or something happens in their life that changes their ability to participate in those things that occupy their time, that’s where we come in. We help them to see what they are capable of, and we work to get them back to participating in those things they need to do and love to do.

Related resource: What is an Occupational Therapy Assistant?

What are the most important skills to keep in mind for someone working in occupational therapy?

Be flexible. Be open to changes and working with people in different settings. Also—and I think this a thing that people naturally have when they enter this field—a desire to want to help people. Carrying that with you and remembering even in those hard times that the reason why you’re there is to help them and just having that in the back of your mind.

When the times get tough and when you’re going through school and seeing that difficult situation, just carry that with you—you’re doing this for a bigger purpose. That, and continuously learning from all of your experiences. Taking a step back and reflecting is a huge thing that I think all of us practitioners can carry, even as entry-level practitioners.

How would you describe the relationship between occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants?

One of the occupational therapy assistants I’ve worked with is my mentor, and he sits on the board of , so in my mind OTAs are unstoppable. They can do anything! In a work setting, the relationship between the OT and OTA takes on a collaborative approach, working toward the same goal. It’s all about having open-minded communication and working toward a common goal.

In my mind, it doesn’t really matter what position you hold, whether you’re an assistant or a therapist or have a master’s versus a doctorate. You make what you want out of your education.

What’s something about occupational therapy that tends to surprise people?

People are surprised when I tell them that we work across the whole lifespan, from neonatal all the way through age 99 or more. I think when people hear “therapy” they’re thinking of rehab, outpatient work, or clinics. But then they hear we’re also in schools, nursing homes, and the NICU. I think when people learn that we work with a huge range of lifespans and also the different settings, it’s really surprising.

Related resource: Where do Occupational Therapy Assistants Work?

You do a lot of work with diversity and inclusion. Can you tell us about that?

Last year I applied to the Emerging Leaders Development Program through the American Occupational Therapy Association, and I was accepted. That was my focus in terms of my vision for the AOTA—having a culturally diverse workforce. When you look at the , men represent low percentages. I feel like there’s room to increase those numbers. I also like to think about not just people of color and men, but also specific groups that are considered underrepresented, whether it’s veterans (which I am myself) or the LGBT community. That’s my passion, and I love getting perspectives from people who represent that.

Related resource: 10 Reasons Why Men Should Become OTAs

Do you have any advice for people who are considering occupational therapy as their profession?

Continue to explore it. See if you can find other occupational therapists or occupational therapy assistants. Go to settings that have practitioners and see if you can shadow. If you can see it in motion, it will give you a better sense of whether it’s something you really want to do.

And don’t just shadow one setting. Occupational therapy in a nursing home is going to look different from occupational therapy in a school, and it’s also going to look different in a hospital or in mental health. Immerse yourself in the profession! Even going to the AOTA website is good. Find out as much as you can.

Is there anything we haven’t talked about that you feel is important to speak to?

We’re needed. And the fact that we’re in the medical field means there are always opportunities available. Hearing from OTAs who have recently graduated and seeing what they have to say on social media, I learned some places are more saturated than others. One thing to keep in mind when considering a profession is where you see yourself working.

But, as far as the profession goes, it’s amazing.

Joyce Nursing Alumni Saves a Life After Graduation

But one summer afternoon, shortly after nursing school graduation, Emilee was driving with her mother when a car swerved in front of them and crashed into a bank of rocks. In a heartbeat, her nursing instinct took over.

Emilee jumped out of the car and ran over to the crash scene. She pushed aside the air bags and found a woman facedown on the passenger seat. “I could tell she was having a seizure,” Emilee said. “I tried to open the car door, but it was locked. All I could think was to get to her. So I reached in and unlocked the passenger door and pulled her out.”

Responding to an Emergency

The new nurse rolled the passenger on her side and noticed her ashen color. “I could tell she was starting to go blue,” said Emilee. “I saw a partially eaten hot dog on the floor and knew she was choking, too. I wanted to pull her out and give her the Heimlich, but when I opened her mouth I could see a piece of hotdog. I was able to reach in and pull it out. I just placed her so she wouldn’t hurt her head and turned her on her side. After the seizure was over, I kept asking her questions to assess her level of consciousness.

“By the time the paramedics got there, she was talking.”

In hindsight, Emilee couldn’t believe she didn’t panic. “I felt like I was working on a mannequin at school and someone was grading me. I looked at her and just knew all the things to do. It was an instinctive thought process.”

Related resource: Emergency Nursing Skills

A nurse discovers her passion

As a nursing school grad, Emilee was grateful for the experience — both because she had an opportunity to save someone’s life and now she knows she can handle her newly adopted profession. “It was nice having to face an emergency as a new nurse. I’ve never had anything happen quite like that, that required so much critical thinking to keep someone alive.”

The experience gave her a lot of faith in her own abilities. “If I can feel confident on my own like that,” said Emilee, “when I’m at work, I can feel really confident.”

Emilee found a love of nursing two years earlier, when she was hospitalized. Pregnant with her second child, Emilee developed severe preeclampsia. Baby Jaxson was quickly put into the NICU.

“Nurses saved my life,” Emilee said. “I had such a great experience, I wanted to be a nurse ever since my son was born.”

Related resource: Emergency Skills for New Nurses

Rising to the challenge

Lacking any experience in healthcare, nursing school was a challenge for Emilee. Her first clinical instructor, Heather Panek, recognized her struggle. The instructor pulled Emilee aside and shared that she hadn’t been a CNA when she’d started nursing school, either. But she assured Emilee that becoming an amazing RN would come with time.

Emilee looked around and decided that if all those other people could do it, she could do it, too. And she never looked back.

Emilee graduated in May 2016 with an associate degree in nursing and got her RN license shortly after. She now works in the NICU at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah. She was inspired to specialize in neonatal care by the nurses who cared for her son while he was in the NICU.

The recent grad is grateful for the tough classes and all the difficulties she went through during school. “If school isn’t that hard on you,” Emilee said, “and then you’re thrown into a [life-threatening] situation, you’re not going to know what to do!”

In fact, Emilee noticed Joyce’s teachers seemed to take pride in the difficulty of their classes. Mary Ann Cook, a particularly hard instructor, had amazing lectures and incredibly hard exams. One day, Emilee was one of the last students to finish an exam. She was just leaving the classroom when the instructor walked past. “That was so hard!” Emilee exclaimed. “Good!” the nurse replied cheerfully and walked on down the hall.

The path to nursing success

After graduation, 51cg helped Emilee translate her non-medical skills, like recordkeeping, to healthcare. Emilee was self-employed for years before going to nursing school, and Joyce helped her build a resume and practice interviewing, since she had little experience with either.

“If school weren’t so hard, I wouldn’t be as good,” Emilee said. “I found the difficulty to be a challenge — and I stood up to it and met it.”

Emilee is proud that all those clinicals and tough tests paid off, and she looks forward to saving more lives — and perhaps inspiring others to go into the nursing profession as well.

At Joyce, we’re proud to prepare our students and faculty to face life-and-death situations during the course of their jobs.

If you’re interesting in our nursing program, connect with us!

As a successful entrepreneur and member of 51cg’s Board of Trustees, William’s long history with Joyce began in 2005 at the inception of the institution’s first nursing program. For the last 15 years, William has served as one of the college’s most senior advisors and advocates.

“Part of my role as a member of the Board of Trustees is to help the institution make decisions that enhance the student learning outcome and best fulfill its mission. The Board of Trustees is composed of individuals with a variety of valuable perspectives, but as the institution was growing and building for the future, I really wanted to understand the perspective of the student first-hand.”

Armed with this purpose, William enrolled in the Associate of Science in Nursing program and began classes in May of 2018. As a person in his 50s, and from a non-science or healthcare background, William recalls feeling the nervousness leading to his first day.

“I was nervous I’d stick out like a sore thumb, or that I’d have a rough time with the study content or the amount of studying. After I did well on my first exam, things settled down. As for the students, at Orientation, most students were told of my other roles at the College. With time, familiarity, and the bonding that occurs during a shared experience, I fit in just fine.”

Like all nursing students, William had to balance the academic rigor of a Joyce nursing program with everyday life.

“The nursing program is very rigorous. I have stacks of binders in my closet from Anatomy and Physiology alone. Studying was a full-time commitment, but that didn’t stop my other responsibilities. I’d show up to business meetings in scrubs, I’d try to sneak time between lectures, labs, clinicals, emails, and meetings to spend with my wife and daughter. In most ways, they were enrolled in the program alongside me.”

As a student, William gained a perspective that most Board Members never get.

William delivered graduation kits for virtual May 2020 graduation to his fellow graduates

“There’s nothing like experiencing nursing school first-hand. You get to see what works well, what has opportunity for improvement and find ways to make student life richer, more meaningful, and manageable. The college has already used some of my suggestions to make improvements.”

After five semesters, William satisfied the requirements for completing the program. At this stage, William was able to experience one of the most stressful and significant moments as a nursing student – taking the NLCEX.

“Joyce’s nursing program is known for its high NCLEX pass rate. The program prepares you really well for the NCLEX, but in the back of my mind I thought, ‘This would look really bad if I failed this exam.’ I ended up getting a hotel for 2 weeks to avoid all distractions and had a regimented schedule for studying. It all paid off because I passed and I’m now waiting for my Registered Nurse license.”

In reflecting back on his journey to the nursing profession, William gained something he never expected.

“I’ve always had a deep admiration for nurses and healthcare professionals, but it was never on my list to become one myself. What I learned by going through the program is that I love being a nurse. I loved the friends I made through the program. I loved the fact that I’m prepared to help people in a meaningful way. I now plan on working as a nurse for a little while, ideally in an acute care setting. I loved working in the ER and Intensive Care units.”

Like all of our students and graduates, we are proud of William’s journey to nursing. From Military Officer, to Business School, to Entrepreneur, to Board Member, to Registered Nurse, William’s story illustrates that anyone can create their own path and chase what’s meaningful.

If you are interested in starting your own journey to nursing, please check out our nursing programs to learn more about the paths available to you.