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
鈥淭he people鈥攖he very talented people鈥攚ho work for UL Lafayette were looking out for my better interest to make sure that I got the degree that I came back for. I made As in every one of my classes when I returned because of the support I had.鈥
鈥淥ne of the things that surprised me was the level of support that we got from the program from Dr. Jennifer Lemoine and Dr. Christy Lenahan. We could go to them whenever we had questions or concerns or needs, and they really supported us. They wanted us to be successful.鈥
鈥淓verything I learned in HSA 鈥 health care collaboration, finance in healthcare, communication styles, leadership 鈥 just became more detailed as I got higher up into my education.鈥
"Whatever your situation is, online learning will make it easier; you just have to keep working hard. The best part about it all is that no matter where you live, you鈥檒l get to be a Ragin鈥 Cajun."