adult degree
Hungering For Master’s
New interest in teaching
Mildred Garcia ’10 does not mince words when it comes to her experience in the RN to BS degree in nursing program at EMU’s Lancaster campus.“It definitely was 100 times better than what I expected,” she said. “If I had to do it again, I wouldn’t even think twice about it.” Garcia, who now works as a labor and delivery nurse at the Heart of Lancaster hospital in Lititz, Pennsylania, originally entered EMU’s program to earn a BSN with the intent of going to midwifery school. “I’m a very social person. I love the patient contact,” she said. “[As a labor and delivery nurse] I’m part of a very intimate experience … I feel very privileged to be a part of that.” Plans changed along the way, though, after several of Garcia’s classes at EMU sparked a new interest in teaching. Garcia now plans to pursue a master’s in nursing education and wants to work in nursing curriculum development and training within a hospital. — AKJ
Mildred Garcia '10 is a labor and delivery nurse with aspirations.
//“The last time I wrote a paper was in the mid-seventies on an electric typewriter! All the instructors at EMU were wonderful and willing to do anything they could to help me succeed.” case manager, Lancaster General Health
// NORMA BAER ’10, // RN
//“I learned leadership principles in this program that have helped me as I
have progressed in my career from staff nurse to nurse manager.” // Sarah Rohrer ’05 // nurse manager, Lancaster General Hospital
//“Networking within our class with nurses from Augusta Medical Center, from Winchester, and
from UVa was very beneficial, and I really feel like EMU prepared me well to finish my master’s degree [through UVa] with a 4.0 GPA.”
// Donna Wilmoth ’08 // director of nursing administration, Rockingham Memorial Hospital
//“I felt
as though each and every professor and staff member took a personal interest in assuring my success. They were respectful, caring, compassionate and filled with grace.” Regional Medical Center
// Kathy Ruoff ’09 // surgical services director, Lancaster
//“I’d been a nurse for 20 years with an associate’s degree when ADCP broadened my
horizons and gave me the idea that I could do more in my profession.” // Karen Jagiello ’04 // nursing instructor at JMU and PhD candidate at WVU
//“I worked full time (36 hours a week), went to school one night a week, juggled a busy
family schedule, and still managed to graduate magna cum laude.” // Lori Ann Lerew ’09 // RN at Wellspan Dialysis, York, Pa. www.emu.edu | crossroads | 9