SHELDON, Iowa | Katherine Steen thinks of something her husband, John Steen, says at home when tackling a new activity.
"He likes to say, 'Go big or go home,'" Katherine says.
She makes the statement while enjoying an afternoon break from class and being a mom. Steen is enrolled in the nursing program at Northwest Iowa Community College in Sheldon, heading back to school some 17 years after graduating from Sioux Central High School.
"I'm 35," she says. "I have a son, who is a high school senior, and three daughters, ages 11, 9 and 8."
And, now she's the one who might have the most homework in the house. The stack of texts she purchased for the fall semester measure a couple of feet tall, at least.
Earning adequate marks in courses like anatomy and physiology and medical terminology can be daunting for a student juggling motherhood, marriage and more. The workload seems to agree with Steen, who earned 91 percent on her final exam to certify as a CNA. She earned 99 percent in her medical terminology class, a 97-percent mark on anatomy and physiology.
People are also reading…
Going back to school does have advantages. Steen says she's a much more focused student than she was two decades ago.
"I look back now and wish I would have paid closer attention when I was in school," she says. "John's mom talks about the stages of life and how when you get to a certain age, you realize you better get it figured out."
Katherine laughs at the statement, which hangs in the air of a nursing classroom. "I'm starting over at 35. Actually, that's true," she says.
Steen didn't see herself working in this field a few years ago. She went back to school the first time about eight years ago, earning a degree in criminal justice in 2009 from the University of Phoenix.
"I never did get into law enforcement, she says. "I don't think that's what God wanted me to do."
Instead, she worked as a supervisor, a subcontractor of sorts who aided workers at a rural processing plant in Buena Vista County. Along the way, she picked up a second language: Spanish.
Being bilingual, she says, may serve her well in a hospital or medical clinic setting in the future. There is demand for Spanish speakers across all categories of work in the medical community.
Steen, in fact, may see herself working as a traveling nurse at some point. She likes the adrenaline push she gets from both the emergency room and in being in a new area of the country. She and John, she says, may one day purchase an RV and hit the road in different parts of the country as Katherine toils in her new career.
First things first, though: Steen must complete this year of classes in order to become a nurse practitioner. Then, she'll set her sights on becoming an RN.
"I was self-employed for 16 years and wasn't really fulfilling my career purpose," she says. "John suggested that I look to NCC as it's a great nursing school. As a nurse, I'll be able to fulfill those personal needs. I want to be a 'salt and light' nurse."
Jesus, she says, was the "salt and light" for many, metaphors for His level of care.
"Many people are stripped of their dignity as they age (or their health fails)," Steen says. "I want to make a difference for those people. I want to treat them and restore their dignity."
