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Gerilyn Anderson is pursing a BSN at Seattle University. She also has a Bachelor’s Degree of science in bioengineering from Boston University. Following completion of the BSN program at Seattle University, Gerilyn intends to pursue a Master’s Degree in nursing, with a focus on community and public health. Her long-term goal is to become involved in quality assurance and health care administration. |
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Cheryl Berreth is a first year nursing student at Walla Walla Community College, and has completed the pre-nursing program at Big Bend Community College with honors. Cheryl currently volunteers for Search For One, a non-profit group providing dental and medical care in the South Pacific. Once Cheryl becomes an RN, she intends to pursue a BSN. She hopes to be able to devote a portion of her time to foreign aid work once she has completed her course of education. |
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Carla Brim is currently enrolled in the Masters of Nursing program at Washington State University in Vancouver. (As a teenage mother who dropped out of school at the age of fourteen, one particular nurse made a special impact on Carla as a new mother.) After going back to school and working as a chemist for several years, she received her nursing degree from Lower Columbia College in Longview. Carla plans to concentrate her nursing career to work with underserved populations and is learning Spanish in order to better serve the growing Hispanic population in Cowlitz County. |
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Elizabeth Caley is currently enrolled in the nursing program at University of Portland. She holds a Bachelors degree in International Political Economy from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma. In addition to her role as a nursing student leader, Elizabeth has also been an activist involved in politics and women’s rights causes. Upon her graduation, she plans to pursue a PhD in geriatric nursing with an emphasis on nursing care to disadvantaged elders in the community. |
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Deborah Castile is currently enrolled in the Masters of Nursing program at the University of Washington. She received her Bachelors in Nursing from Oregon Health Science University. Deborah decided she wanted to be a nurse at the tender age of eight, when she had emergency surgery that resulted in an extended hospital stay. Deborah is committed to becoming a nursing educator in order to make a difference in the lives of nursing students, the nursing shortage, and the nursing faculty shortage. |
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Courtnay Caufield is studying nursing at Columbia Basin College, where she is the activities director for the Columbia Basin College Nursing Association. She has organized fundraisers in her community for the March of Dimes, as well as food drives, clothing drives, and care package campaigns for military troops. Courtnay’s goal is to obtain a BSN from Washington State University. |
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Lindsey Fenstermaker is enrolled in the nursing program at Everett Community College. A church-organized trip to Haiti where she witnessed the harsh living conditions and the wonderful care that her best friend’s son received at a NICU led Lindsey to nursing. After completing this program, Lindsey plans to obtain her BSN degree and then a master’s degree as a Nurse Midwife so that she can achieve her goal of being a midwifery instructor in Haiti. |
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Yolanda Hagen is enrolled in the nursing program at Northwest University in Kirkland. She first thought about nursing when witnessing the care that nurses provided to her younger brother who suffered a brain aneurysm. Yolanda was trained as a public health technician in the United States Air Force and was deployed to Iraq in 2003. Yolanda’s hope is to obtain a commission in the U.S. Air Force Reserves as a nurse and go on a medical mission to a foreign country to deliver health care. |
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Amanda Helfrick is enrolled in the nursing program at Seattle Pacific University. Amanda knew at an early age that she wanted to enter the medical field. Born with vascular malformation that affected her left forearm, she has undergone eleven surgeries. Amanda’s personal health care experiences cultivated her desire to someday help people in the same way. She would like to continue her education with a master’s degree in nursing and eventually be a family nurse practitioner. |
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Jennifer Johnson is currently enrolled in the nursing program at Shoreline Community College. Jennifer competed as a nationally ranked ski racer from 1991-1996. Ski racing also took Jennifer through five knee and two shoulder surgeries. Her immediate goal upon obtaining her RN license is to work in an emergency room or at a public health center in Eastern Washington, while eventually Jennifer wants to help underserved populations in the developing world. |
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Tullamora Landis is earning a nursing degree at Seattle Pacific University. After becoming an RN, Tullamora hopes to begin working in a hospital, and to continue on toward a Masters Degree in Public Health and a Masters of Divinity. Following completion of her studies, she plans to start a nursing career in a position with an international aide organization. |
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Stacie Lousberg is enrolled in the nursing program at Seattle University. It was her youngest brother’s battle with cancer that drew Stacie to nursing. She witnessed the compassionate, empathetic and holistic care that the nurses provided to the entire family. Stacie wants to translate her personal experience with her brother’s illness into her goal of becoming a pediatric oncology nurse. |
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Carie L McFarlin is pursuing a nursing degree at Skagit Valley College. She is a member of the Student Nurses Club at Skagit Valley College, and the National Student Nurses Association. She has volunteered at Skagit Valley Hospital and other organizations within her community, and, following the completion of her current studies in her Bachelors Degree program, intends to pursue a Masters Degree in nursing. |
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Dara J Otto, a first-year student at Big Bend Community College, is working toward becoming a RN, with the eventual goal of receiving a BSN. She has been active with both the American Cancer Society and the Diabetes Association concentrating on efforts to provide aid to victims of domestic abuse, and is a member of the National Student Nurse’s Association at her school. |
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Sejal Parekh is enrolled in the Masters Family Nurse Practitioner program at Boston College. Sejal’s travels around the world also help define her goal to become a nurse in order to help people of different ethnic backgrounds and those who can’t afford the expensive costs of healthcare. |
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Theresa Parr is studying at Clark College, where she is pursuing a nursing degree. Eventually, she would like to achieve a Bachelor’s Degree in nursing. Theresa has worked full time at a summer camp for children with autism, and found inspiration for her nursing career in her experiences working with children with disabilities. She has also been involved with various charitable and volunteer activities through the Student Nurses Association of Clark College, of which she is a member. |
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Alison Rees is enrolled in the nursing program at the University of Washington. Alison has a BA in Geography from Mount Holyoke College and a Master of Science degree in Library and Information Science from Florida State University. Her most recent position includes working on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s U.S. Library Project. Alison has traveled the world extensively and her long-term goal is to work as an advanced-degree nurse and health advocate. |
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Kathleen Saari is pursuing a BSN at Washington State University. She has been an employee at Peacehealth, St John Medical Center for more than 25 years; she has been a nurse’s aide and an LPN, before becoming an RN in 1980. Following completion of her current course of study at WSU, Kathleen hopes to continue on toward a Masters degree and teach clinical nursing. She is looking forward to her future as a clinical instructor and teaching future nurses excellence in nursing assessment and care. |
