Gabrielle Umerski’s favorite movie when she was small was Balto. The animated movie is based on a true story about a sled dog team that delivered medicine to combat an outbreak of diphtheria in Alaska.
The movie sparked something inside her, and she did a report on Alaska in the third grade; she decided she wanted to move to Alaska and be dog musher when she grew up.
“I was thinking, this is the best state we have. There are dogs. You’ve got snow. You mush. I’m going to do the Iditarod and somehow make a career out of it,” Gabrielle laughed.
Let’s not focus on the fact that she didn’t have dogs while growing up.
However, Balto did spark something else. If it couldn’t be mushing, then she would focus on the medical side of the story.
Gabrielle came back to school after eight years as a CNA. She loved helping people but there was no growth in the position, and she wanted to make a bigger difference, both for herself and her kids. SCTCC was the perfect place to take the next step in the Practical Nursing program.
However, after being a stay-at-home mom and in the workforce, coming back to school was a little bit of a shock.“You don’t give me a class list? How do I know what I need?”
After navigating the learning curve, she realized that SCTCC really was the best place to be. There were other non-traditional students, the community was diverse, and she was really engaged with the material she was learning. It was exactly what she wanted.
That doesn’t mean it was easy.
“I didn’t realize how hard it was going to be. They talk about critical thinking, but by the end of the week, my brain is kind of done from critically thinking,” Gabrielle noted. She needed to learn the material, apply it to real life, and then add a thousand different factors based on each patient.
This new way of learning and thinking made a big impact on her. It forced her to adapt and realize there’s always more to learn. Plus it kept her ego in check.
Because of her time as a CNA and watching nurses in the field, she thought she would have an easy time with classes, but she was “gracefully humbled” and gained a lot more respect for the work nurses do. It didn’t take long for her to realize that everyone has room to grow, both personally and in knowledge.
Another aspect of Gabrielle’s growth while at SCTCC was in her leadership skills. The first semester in the Practical Nursing program, she took on the role of treasurer of the PN Club. Her second semester, she was nominated as President.
Her involvement in the club has been a huge motivator: “It’s fun to see the difference you can make, and to make others feel cared for,” she mentioned. Since she was surrounded by others with the same drive and mindset, she went all in.
Over winter break, Gabrielle made six binders with proposals on nursing club projects that she brought to the group. While it may have been a bit too much, the club members chose what would work with everyone’s schedules. This semester, the club focused on community outreach:
- Blankets for babies
- Cards for seniors
- Donations to Anna Marie’s
- Sponsoring a walk
- Blood drive
The blood drive in April was especially important because of her passion for donating blood. Her personal goal in life is to donate ten gallons of blood, and this blood drive was one step closer. Plus, someone needs blood every two seconds, and with a donation, up to three lives can be saved.
The club had a goal of 25 units donated and were just one short, but Gabrielle was excited that the student donators won a friendly student versus faculty competition by one point.
Being club president has not just helped her leadership skills—it’s also pushed Gabrielle to delegate. However, that doesn’t mean everything gets delegated. When she got an email notification last month from Shaun Keeley, Director of Campus Life, she thought it was about all the purchase orders she’d pushed through for the club.
After opening the email, she realized it was about graduation, then fully understood what he was asking her: would she like to be the student speaker at Commencement on May 14?
“I was really honored and grateful to even be considered,” Gabrielle said. With the wide variety of students that come to SCTCC, she wants to strike the right tone during her speech, but what she most wants graduates to take away is that everyone has had to grow to get to where they are today and will continue doing so.
After graduation, her goal is to be a wound care nurse. She’s finishing her prerequisites to continue with her ADN then BSN, and she won’t have any problem finding a job she loves. Nurses are needed everywhere.
Plus, Gabrielle has done some research. There are several locations in Northern Minnesota to experience dog sledding, and that’s definitely on her vacation list. Maybe, just maybe, she’ll relocate in the future, get a job in nursing, and then take up mushing as a hobby.
She still needs to get a dog, though.