UOPX alumni spotlight: Jenny and Kelly Guire

Jenny had Kelly when she was 17 and, after taking a few classes to earn the prerequisites for nursing school, she stepped away. “I took a break from school for about 10 years to have more kids and do the mom thing,” says Jenny.

Then she felt the clock ticking. Her prerequisites had an expiration date, and Jenny found a community college that accepted them. She enrolled in 2009, completed her associate degree in 2011 and became a licensed RN. “I was in my early 30s,” says Jenny. “I’m a bit of a later bloomer.”

Jenny was working in a corrections facility, hoping that one day she could gain her bachelor’s degree. She always wanted it, she says, and she felt it would better prepare her for future opportunities. So, when her children reached a more independent stage two years after Jenny completed her associate degree, she began to give college some serious thought. When she discovered the online RN to BSN program at UOPX, the prospect finally felt possible. 

“I think it was the convenience of the online program and the financial aspects of it,” she says. 

Jenny was motivated. She completed her degree in just about a year and, ready for “a change of pace,” landed a job at Community Health System’s telemetry unit, where she worked for 6½ years before moving into the intensive care unit.

Meanwhile, Kelly was reaching her own scholastic milestones. She graduated high school, dived into a short-lived study of forensics, then quickly pivoted to nursing. 

The first step was working toward her nursing degree at a community college while simultaneously gaining on-the-floor experience. To achieve the latter, Kelly volunteered on the telemetry unit where her mother worked. 

Kelly’s observations are spot-on as far as her mom is concerned. “I have always wanted leadership,” Jenny confirms. This at least partly inspired her to pursue her master’s degree at UOPX and take advantage of her employer’s tuition reimbursement option. 

About that time, Jenny stepped into a management role at Community Health, and the promotion couldn’t have come at a better time. She quickly recognized how her educational pursuits and career goals were working together. “My master’s program was nice because I was living the work that I was doing in the program,” she says. “It helped validate the management and leadership skills that I already had and take [them] to a higher level.”

Kelly, meanwhile, was plugging away at community college, hoping to one day work in the ICU. She completed her associate degree in May 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a baptism-by-fire experience. Kelly was grateful to discover a silver lining: “I very quickly had to learn how to become a nurse,” she says. “There were just such minimal resources for us at that time.” 

Once Kelly completed her nursing program and passed the NCLEX (a national exam for licensing nurses), she wanted a breather. Not for too long, though, because she wanted to stay “in that nursing school mindset.” She wanted her bachelor’s degree and, like her mother, Kelly was drawn to UOPX. 

“The online [part] was really important for me,” Kelly says, “especially because I was doing the schooling at the height of COVID, and I didn’t want to have to worry about in-person school during COVID and having to work through it as well. Just having that ability to do all my schoolwork from home was really important to me.” 

Jenny’s master’s program at UOPX overlapped briefly with Kelly’s bachelor’s program, giving them the opportunity to encourage each other in good time management habits. Dedicating chunks of time for schoolwork was a must, according to Jenny. “We kind of helped each other to do that, and followed up to make sure, ‘Hey, it’s Monday. Did you do your paper?’” 

Still, there were challenges. Kelly found the task of writing college-level papers daunting. “I had experience with writing papers in high school, but it’s very different to suddenly have to write a college-level paper,” she says. “My nursing degree [and] my prerequisites were test-driven, not paper-driven.” 

The process yielded unforeseen benefits. Kelly discovered just how much she values the ability to communicate effectively and ultimately teach others.  

“I never thought of myself as that preceptor, as that leader,” she says, “and I kind of grew into that role at work. Now I’ve trained so many people, it’s difficult to count.” 

Her mother supports Kelly’s aptitude for teaching. “I can see her in that educator role. She is a great preceptor already and is going to start teaching some education classes. I’m so happy to see that happening,” Jenny says.

Kelly takes a moment to reflect on what she most admires about her mother, not as a nurse, but as a mom. “She won’t sugarcoat the answer,” says Kelly. “She’s going to give me the answer that I need to hear, not the answer that I want to hear. 

“She has always been my No. 1 supporter in everything that I do.”

For Jenny, the delineation between daughter and nurse aren’t as clear. 

In the days ahead, Kelly will need that support when she pursues her master’s degree at UOPX. 

 “A lot of schools require you to have your master’s to go into nursing education,” says Kelly. “That’s the career path that I want.” 

As Kelly takes cues from her mom, Jenny continues to support her daughter. After all, no matter what the future may hold, this mother-daughter duo can depend on one another. 

“I mean, she’s my biggest fan, and I’m her biggest fan,” Jenny says, underscoring how in their family at least, they are stronger together.  

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