The hurdles Jorge Juarez faced could have made him give up his goal of being a nurse.
Instead, he’s graduating today.
Juarez and 16 others are the first graduates of the UNMC College of Nursing’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing program. While pursing the degree – first at Creighton University Medical Center, then at UNMC — Juarez, 41, dealt with the declining health and, then eventual death, of his parents.
“I’m very happy I got through,” he said. “I really wanted to give a good example to my kids that you can do anything you set your mind to.”
It wasn’t easy.
In 2002, shortly after retiring from 20 years in the Air Force, Juarez and his family traveled to Texas to visit his father, who had had a stroke, and his mother, who was diagnosed with cancer.
The visit introduced him to the health professions. “I saw all the nurses who interacted with my mom and dad,” Juarez said. “It really had an impact on me.”
In September 2002, his 50-year-old brother had a stroke. “We really had a rough time,” Juarez said. “It made me look at myself because I also have high blood pressure. It got me closer to the medical profession.”
While visiting his brother in North Carolina, his Bellevue house was struck by lighting and burned. Fortunately, his wife, Lynelle, their two children and two pets escaped unharmed. “It gives you a new perspective on what you value,” Juarez said. “It brings you closer to your family and God.”
Juarez decided to pursue a nursing degree. “It’s a total 180 from what I did before,” he said, noting his military career primarily involved working with aircraft and satellite computers and electronics.
He began Creighton’s accelerated nursing program in January 2004, but his mother’s cancer worsened and she died May 22. “It took a toll on me,” he said. “My grades suffered, so I pulled out.”
But, his mother “was so proud” of his career choice and would tell the hospice nurses that her son was in nursing school. He promised her that he would become a nurse.
After her death, Juarez looked into UNMC’s program, which began in January 2005 with a $1.17 million, three-year grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. Although he needed two classes to enter, he convinced Metropolitan Community College officials to let him enroll in the courses that had begun one week earlier. After completing the courses, he applied to UNMC’s accelerated nursing program and began class in January 2005.
“It was very exciting for me,” Juarez said, although it meant taking about almost 28 credit hours at once instead of the typical undergraduate student load of 15 hours.
With the accelerated program, students earn the degree in one year – taking classes for two semesters as well the summer – without typical breaks. Clinical rotations and academics also are held on evenings and weekends. The traditional BSN program takes five semesters over 2 1/2 years.
This past May, at the end of his first semester, tragedy struck again. Juarez’s father had a heart attack and died May 23 – one year and one day after the death of his mother.
“The campus really worked with me,” he said.
Today, he’s proud to be among the program’s first graduates. “You really had to have school be 100 percent in your life,” he said. Often, that meant missing his daughter’s soccer games and his son’s band performances.
“The pace was insane,” Juarez said. “It was rough for all of us. Sometimes my kids would be doing their homework and I’d be sitting there doing mine too.”
However, Juarez’s goal of being a nurse kept him focused. “Nurses really make the difference,” he said. “The way you interact with a patient. It really makes a difference. You can see it.”
Despite the challenges, he praises UNMC’s accelerated program. “They really hit the mark when they created the accelerated program,” he said. “The experience was just outstanding.”
Although he realizes some people have stereotypes about male nurses, Juarez doesn’t make any distinctions. “I don’t see genders,” he said. “I see a nurse, a professional, taught to uphold nursing standards. Men should go into the nursing profession. I’m really glad I went into it.”
Names of students graduating in the UNMC College of Nursing’s first Accelerated Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing class:
Analisa Colglazier
Carolyn Cotton
Cristy Drake
Christopher Michael Dunn
Elizabeth Kirstin Harris
Brandi Jo Herbolsheimer
Jessica L. Hubl
Katie Kristine Hurst
Jorge Juarez
Robert Jerard Lally
Rebecca Church-Maertens
Alicia Katherine McCune
Marc David Michel
Raime Lee Misko
Sybil Jill Raney
Blake Keith Renner Jr.
Dawn Marie Zachry