“The faculty were always approachable and supportive. They took extra time if I needed help or even a shoulder to cry on. They taught us so much in a short amount of time, making our learning memorable with personal experiences to illustrate teaching points. Interactive class participation also helped to sharpen our critical thinking skills,” she said. After graduating, she took a full-time position on the heart failure and cardiac transplant progressive care unit at Strong.
Maddie Deese, Wegmans School of nursing
Madeleine Deese has lived in many places. She was born in Richmond, Virginia, and then lived in Houston, Texas, for about 10 years. But, she also spent some years in Las Vegas, Indianapolis, and finally settled in Rochester in 1996. Since then, she has stayed put in Rochester, and now considers herself a local. The recent graduate of the Wegmans School of Nursing chose nursing as her second career, after traveling the world as a skater with Feld Entertainment’s Disney On Ice! “Disney was a fantastic experience but, unfortunately, I had many sports injuries. So I always knew that I wanted to go into healthcare,” she said. Ultimately, it was her mother, a nurse anesthetist, who convinced her that she would make a great nurse. Deese said her time at Fisher brought her many great clinical opportunities, with most of her experiences being in the cardiac unit at Rochester General Hospital and Strong Memorial Hospital. She said she felt very prepared going into each of her clinical rotations, and credits the Fisher nursing faculty for that. Of course, she experienced the firstday nerves, but quickly assimilated into the rotation and hospital where she was assigned. She also said Fisher teaches students not only how to be a nurse, but how to be active learners in continuing their education, a trait she says is important in a nursing career.
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“I love the unit, the patient population, and especially my fellow staff. The unit is like a family—supportive and focused on our development and growth as new nurses,” said Deese. Perhaps what Deese loves most about her second career are all of the options it brings. She is interested in the Air Force Nursing Corps, MedEvac Flight Nursing, cardiovascular critical care, and may even follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a nurse anesthetist.
erica iafe, School of business
Erica Iafe didn’t stop after earning just one degree from Fisher; she thought she’d go ahead and earn another. The Greece native majored in accounting with a minor in corporate finance, graduating with her bachelor’s degree in 2012, and most recently, walked across stage to receive her MBA this past May. She said her internships gave her the practical and hands-on experience she knew she would need to land her first job. One of her first internships was with Insero & Company CPAs, P.C., during the summer between her junior and senior years. She even traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah, for an audit with some of the firm’s staff. “It was a great experience to be able to go out on jobs and get some actual auditing experience outside of the classroom during that internship,” she said. Iafe stayed with the firm for the remainder of her undergraduate and graduate career, working as a tax processing and administrative intern. During busy season, she was responsible for getting