The End of a Long Road

Kaitlin Ward of Scott City applied for the Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing in 2007 expecting to be put on the two year wating list for enrollment. The school later notified her that because of her excellent application, that she would be allowed to bypass the waiting period and would be enrolled immediately after her high school graduation.

After graduating from high school at 17, she had only a weeks break before being thrown head first into a collegiate program where some of her peirs had children her age. Ms. Ward then spent the next two years of her life sitting indian style on her couch surrounded by books and papers studying. Out of those two years, rarely was there an assignment that wasn't completed ahead of time. While most people her age were enjoying their weekends, Kaitlin stayed at home and prepared for one of the weekly upcoming tests.

Kaitlin graduated the program in May when she was 19 years of age. She was the youngest person to graduate in her class. She is now working as an intern at Southeast Hospital and received information July 8th that she has passed her boards on the first try.

Her family is extremely proud of her along with her boyfriend who knows how many sacrifices she has had to make to get where she is today.

Congratulations Katie, no words can discribe how proud we all are of you.