Gateway helps graduate to help others

Jessica Aull has been able to do what she wanted to do most in life: care for other people.

It’s something she wanted to do even as a small child, something that came naturally to her and something she felt compelled to do. At some point, Jessica realized to fulfill her dream, college would have to be in the picture, and Gateway Technical College would eventually come into that picture for her – twice.

Two times Jessica turned to Gateway to provide her with the skills needed for a rewarding career in health care.

The most recent? To become a nurse. She says three factors drove her to return: Gateway’s hands-on training, solid reputation and low cost, which again provided her the training to continue to live out her lifelong dream.

“Gateway has opened so many doors for me, so many opportunities to reach more people,” says Jessica. “And that’s what I always wanted. I realize this isn’t the end – I plan to continue my education to give more support and reach more people. Gateway has helped me to do that.”

Jessica’s first experience at Gateway was to earn her Emergency Medical Technician diploma. “Obtaining my EMT certification allowed me to enter the healthcare field where I was able to serve 11 years in the emergency room,” says Jessica.

Her work in the emergency room of an area hospital caused her to ponder a career shift to become a physician assistant, and she earned a degree from UW-Parkside. In the midst of figuring out how to continue on to a master’s degree, she became pregnant with her first child.

“Once my child was born, that became my first priority – to be a mom to the best of my ability,” says Jessica. “But I also wanted to continue on with my education and to be able to take care of patients.

“That brought me to Gateway and nursing. As a nurse, I would be able to take care of patients in a health care setting and also be able to keep my job as a mom a priority.”

Jessica chose Gateway because its Nursing program focused on exactly what she wanted to learn – and nothing extra.

“The classes were specific and they had meaning,” says Jessica. “There were no classes I had to take just for the sake of taking an additional class. No fluff classes.

“I had worked with so many emergency room nurses and they all spoke positively about Gateway. I also saw how Gateway student nurses worked in the emergency room, they were so much more hands-on and eager to be put in different situations. Some of the nurses from four-year colleges hadn’t even spoken to patients yet.

“I’m sure those four-year students went on to be good nurses, but I also knew that the Gateway nurses were receiving hands-on training and ready to go, and that’s what I needed.”

And that’s exactly what Jessica received. She was such a strong student with solid nursing skills that she was awarded the Daisy Award, a national award given to a college’s most outstanding and extraordinary nursing student.