Student Gets Second Chance to Pursue a Career in Nursing

Every student who applies to our ABSN program has a different reason for wanting to pursue a career in nursing. There are some who’ve always wanted to become a nurse, but had to wait for the timing to be right to chase their dreams. Meet Lauren Weaver, one such student.

From a very young age, Lauren had an interest in medicine, knowing it was her destiny to one day become a nurse, just like her mom. When it came time for her to start college, however, she opted to put nursing school on hold so she could dive into an opportunity of a lifetime.

In high school, Lauren was a three-time All-American in swimming. Given her athletic ability, Duke University invited her to swim for the Blue Devils as a Division I athlete, which is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

While it’s an honor to be a Division I athlete, it’s also very demanding. With daily workouts, regular practices, weekend competitions, and a full course load, life is all work and no play.

“It’s practically impossible to be a Division I athlete and go to nursing school at the same time,” Lauren told us. “I loved swimming far too much to give it up.”

By the time Lauren graduated from Duke University with a degree in evolutionary anthropology, she had racked up some serious swimming stats, from being a school record holder in the 50 freestyle to setting a record in the 100 freestyle at the NCAA Championship.

After graduation, Lauren took a break from academics and moved to Washington, D.C., to coach collegiate swimming and work at Xerox in sales. She soon discovered the corporate world wasn’t for her. “I knew medicine was my thing. It just made sense to me,” she said. At that point, she moved back to her hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, and started planning the next chapter of her life.

One Story Ends, Another Begins

Back at home living with her parents, Lauren researched different nursing programs in the area, with none of them being exactly what she wanted. (She didn’t cross paths with the Xavier ABSN program because we hadn’t launched it yet.) Then, late one night in September 2017, Lauren was on Facebook looking at her feed when an ad popped up for our ABSN program. “It was almost like an act of God,” she said.

She immediately put in a request for more information. Turns out, Lauren was the first person to contact us about the program and became one of nine students in the inaugural ABSN cohort that started nursing school in January 2017. “It feels so good to be here. It’s my thing. I feel so privileged to have been given this opportunity,” Lauren noted. “I never dreamed I’d be starting a program and be done in May 2018. I would definitely recommend looking into Xavier. It’s working out great for me!”

The second-degree ABSN program at Xavier is making it possible for Lauren to one day look back and feel proud that she was able to fulfill both her passion for swimming and her desire to pursue a career in nursing.

Start Your Next Chapter

If you’ve always wanted to pursue a career in nursing, but your life has taken some unexpected turns, our second-degree ABSN program might be able to help get you back on track. As long as you have a non-nursing bachelor’s degree and a cumulative GPA of at least 2.7, we can give you a second chance at becoming a nurse—within an accelerated timeframe to boot.

No matter your previous field of undergraduate study, our accredited, full-time ABSN program builds on your degree so you can earn a BSN in 16 months. A rigorous blend of online coursework, nursing skills and simulation labs, and clinical rotations at top health-care facilities across Greater Cincinnati also contributes to your quick transition into nursing.

Ready to kick-start the next chapter of your life? Contact an admission counselor today to put your nursing education in motion! Our ABSN program has three start dates a year, allowing you to choose a spring, summer, or fall term.