The weekend of May 5th and 6th was one of the greatest of my life.
I graduated from East Tennessee State University with a Master of Science in Nursing with a concentration in Nursing Education.
This was quite a journey for me. I started in fall 2019 and took a full load of classes while working full time plus PRN teaching CNA classes. My kids were 12 and 17. Brody played travel soccer. Brayden was finishing up high school. I volunteered on the soccer club board of directors. It was a busy time in our lives, but not quite as busy as when the kids were younger. It felt like the right time. In March of 2020, I changed jobs. I was commuting between JC and Knoxville until we went home for the pandemic. I don't remember the reason, but I withdrew from classes that semester. I did not reenroll in the fall. It took me a year before I was ready to go back. When I did, I realized much of my tuition discount no longer applied since I was now an employee of UT and not ETSU. UTK would only cover 1 class per semester, so I returned in spring of 2021 taking 1 class per semester. I did that for a couple of semesters before I realized I would never finish at that pace. I added a second class per semester. Suddenly, I was entering my last semester.
THIS accomplishment is one that I am so incredibly proud of. I worked hard to get here. I was intentional about my time. I tried very hard to keep my classes from interfering with my work and with my family time. I won't say I did a good job toward the end, but I really tried.
I get choked up every time I think about it. I know that probably seems silly. It felt like the thing I would never finish; the finish line I would never cross. When I crossed it, it reminded me of crossing the finish line of the New York City Marathon. No one did the work for me. No one else trained my body. No one else wrote papers. No one else lost sleep over miles to be run or assignments to be completed. I had a lot of cheerleaders and people who trained alongside me, but ultimately, I had to do the work.
There are so many people who were instrumental in my journey.
Scott - goodness. I can hardly breathe when I think about how he loves and supports me. It's been 19 years of marriage and I still wonder how I got lucky enough to be his wife. He was always flexible around "I have homework" and understood my commitment. He walked with me through the fire of this degree. He was patient and encouraging. He gave me the space I needed to finish without letting me give up or making me feel like I would be less than if I did quit. I could not be more grateful for his presence in my life.
The boys would never know their influence. They are much of the reason for why I want to be better at everything.
My parents have supported me in ways they would also never know. Beyond opening up their home for me to stay while I completed clinical hours in JC, they have always been my biggest cheerleader and the most proud parents you could find. At the end of the weekend, as we were leaving to head back to Knoxville, my Mom and I stood in her kitchen and both cried. All I could squeak out was "Thank you." I hope she and my dad know all the words I was unable to speak.
Other countless friends and family were incredibly supportive - reading my papers, listening to my presentations, and encouraging me when I wanted to quit. My friend and co-worker, Carrie, was the one who really had to keep me sane as I worked through some tough assignments. At the end, she wrote in my card, "We did it. Let's keep going." And yes, we did do it.
I am incredibly thankful for my preceptors who took me on as a student and let me learn from them. As someone who works in education, I know how important it is to have good mentors and boy, did I hit the jackpot with mine. I am fortunate to call some of these folks colleagues today.
I will post separately about the graduation celebration, but for now, I will include the professional pictures from graduation. Thankfully I was not crying. I was cheered on at graduation by people that I couldn't imagine would care that I was graduating. It has been a lesson in gratitude, patience, and growth.
With a grateful heart and big love,
Carla Orsburn, MSN-Ed 💙
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