To introduce oneself in three paragraphs is an interesting task. My current job as the Dean of Careers and Workforce Development at Morton College does not completely define me. However, my continual love for learning and desire to teach and help those who teach provides a constant backdrop for who I am. Since I was small, I wanted to be a teacher. However, another “helping and compassionate” career was my choice and I became a nurse in 1971 working in the fast paced hospital areas of Intensive/Coronary care and the Emergency Room. Nursing is a demanding profession that expects one to continuously learn. I realized that the nursing profession lends new importance and meaning to the phrase “life-long learning.”
I attended graduate school at University of Wisconsin-Madison where I studied nursing, administration and health planning and policy issues. I had the opportunity to combine my degree and background to become a Vice-President in a large hospital in Pennsylvania; National League for Nursing mid-west regional director; nursing faculty; member of the Cardiac and Circulatory Device Food and Drug advisory committee and I still continue to be a federal grant reviewer for the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Nursing. Now, as the Dean of Careers at a community college, I feel I have found my niche. I enjoy working with all types of career programs, curriculum development, planning, budgeting and obtaining grants and funds for the career area and the College. I whole-heartedly believe community colleges provide adults with a great venue to learn and subsequently to change their lives. My goal is to make post-secondary education avenues smoother and more diverse for the adult learner.
I now live in the Western Suburbs and until six months ago, still worked one day a month as an agency nurse in local hospitals. I love to sing and as a member of a small church choir from LaGrange, two years ago I traveled and sang in Europe. This April, we will travel as a choir to sing in Cuba. I recently was honored by being nominated to attend the Oxford Roundtable in England, August 2002 as a participant of an international “think tank” on adult education. I will be attending and discussing relevant issues with other educators and college administrators. I am excited about the opportunity to join in the doctoral program at National-Louis University, to grow personally and professionally as well as continue to learn within this innovative program which will assist me to reach my goals.
