鈥淚t was easy to navigate, and the instructors answered questions promptly. University staff would actually reach out throughout the semesters to see if I had questions and see how I was doing. It was nice to have the constant support.鈥
"There are not many things you get to do as big as this. Enjoy the experience, take it slow, and ask questions when they come up because UL Lafayette has a huge support system. That鈥檚 one of the reasons I decided to go back.鈥
鈥淚 was still able to do my job, be a mom, be a wife, be a caregiver, and do all the other things because I had so much structure through the professors. They are wonderful. They made it doable."
鈥淒on鈥檛 give up. It can get overwhelming, but it鈥檚 not hard. Remain focused because at the end when you finish, you鈥檙e going to realize how much it was worth it.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 important that we have this Doctor of Nursing Practice program and continue to support nurses completing this program. This program is building a stronger nursing profession and a stronger healthcare industry across the country.鈥
鈥淚f it鈥檚 something you want to do, there shouldn鈥檛 be any excuses. You鈥檒l always be able to say you don鈥檛 have time, but you do. You just have to make it.鈥
鈥淚 know that furthering my education is going to come in handy no matter what. I just want to be an inspiration to single mothers to just keep moving forward and show them they can reach their goals.鈥
鈥淓verything that we did in both the master鈥檚 and the doctorate program was authentic and connected to our schools, our districts. We didn't have to dream up some idealistic hypothetical school. We were doing real work, and it was relevant work.鈥
鈥Keep an open mind and know that there's more to the field than out-in-the-field law enforcement. This job that I have now is a hidden gem, and there's tons of jobs like this. You just have to put yourself out there.鈥