Non-traditional nursing alumna: “I’m still here, and I’m still thriving”
HFC alumna Champaign Brown received the Live Your Dream Award from Soroptimist International of the Flat Rock Area.
This award is given to women in the community who, as non-traditional students, are working to better themselves through education. To qualify, the woman must be head of the household and be in a degree program or vocational education training program.
Brown is a single mother of daughter Heaven, 16. Brown earned her associate degree in nursing in late 2019. She received $2,500 and a certificate. Former HFC nursing instructor Peggy Kearney nominated Brown for this award.
“I’m grateful to Peggy for nominating me for this award,” said Brown, of Dearborn. “I found out the day of my graduation that I was a winner. It was such a wonderful day. I was overjoyed. It was phenomenal.”
Originally trained as a medical assistant
A native of Grand Rapids and an alumna of East Kentwood High School, Brown also has an associate degree in medical assisting from the former Sanford-Brown College in Dearborn.
She has always had a passion for taking care of people, which inspired her to become a nurse, especially after working as a medical assistant.
“I’ve always had a nurturing side to me, even when I was a kid. As a medical assistant, I saw what nurses did. I worked hard as a medical assistant – and at the end of the day, my hair was still on fire,” she said, laughing. “I saw the job that nurses did, and I knew I would be able do it. It made me want to go back and get the credentials to become a nurse.”
She now plans to earn her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Ohio University in Athens, OH.
“I’ll be getting my bachelor’s online. This program is convenient and flexible, which is important because I work full-time and I’m a full-time mom,” said Brown, a charge nurse at Beaumont Hospital – Dearborn.
HFC ignited her nursing passion
Brown researched HFC’s nursing program, which has a sterling reputation, she said.
“It’s the longest-standing program around. It has never lost its accreditation. As a medical assistant, I worked with HFC nursing grads who spoke highly of the program,” said Brown. “The high (NCLEX exam) pass rate is what sold me. ‘I’ve got to do that,’ I told myself. Granted, the nursing program was hard, but it got you ready for the real world, and I wanted that.”
For Brown, HFC was a great experience.
“I made a lot of good friends who are my friends to this day,” she said. “I also mentor students in the nursing program. I can’t say enough good things about HFC.”
Mental responsibility and sound judgment
Brown is working hard as a nurse, and it’s different from being a medical assistant.
“I find I have a lot more mental responsibility. You need to use sound judgement – you’re always thinking,” she said.
When she began her job at Beaumont at the beginning of 2020, Brown was a floor nurse. Within four months, she was promoted to her current position as a charge nurse – in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
“My learning experience was not the traditional way of learning for a new nurse,” she said. “It was crazy. But I learned a lot in very little time. Because of my HFC training, I didn’t feel overwhelmed in the least. I’m still there and I’m still thriving.”
Working the front lines in this pandemic hasn’t changed Brown’s opinion of being a nurse.
“I love it!” she said. “I get up and go to work every day and I’m happy about it. I work with good people and it’s a welcoming environment. They’re my second family.”