Lavonda Wheeler

Spotlight on Nursing's Lavonda Wheeler,
First-year nursing student

Growing up, Lavonda Wheeler felt she wanted to be a nurse someday. When she was a sophomore in high school, she enrolled in a program at the vocational technical school to become a health assistant and her inkling grew stronger.

Years later, she was certain she wanted to be a nurse. “I guess my ultimate decision came when I found out my granddaughter was born with cancer,” she said.

Lavonda is in her first year of the associate degree in nursing program at Kent State East Liverpool. She said she decided to enroll here because of its reputation as an excellent program.

“The professors in the program want you to succeed and are there to help you.”

Once she earns her degree, Lavonda intends to eventually continue her education to earn her BSN and work in the geriatrics area of nursing.

“I see myself working with geriatrics, but my dream is to be a traveling nurse,” she said. “I have my STNA license and I worked in a nursing home for the last year, and I have also done home healthcare for 15 years. I love working with the older clients. They are so funny and you learn so much from them.”