Dr. Sarah Miller (BSN ’09, MSN ’10) never set out to become a university dean.
Like many nurses, her story began with a simple desire to care for people well. After earning her associate’s degree in nursing and becoming an RN, Sarah was already doing meaningful work, but she sensed there was more ahead. More to learn. More ways to serve. More impact to make.
That curiosity and calling led her to MidAmerica Nazarene University.
“I had heard great things about MNU,” Sarah says, “but what really stood out was the people.”
Investing In Her Education
When she met with the RN-BSN program director, Sarah experienced something that still defines her connection to MNU today: genuine care. Instead of a quick meeting and a checklist, she was personally walked through campus, introduced to offices, resources, and people who would support her success.
“That moment showed me Christ’s love in action,” she says. “I knew this was where I belonged.”
Sarah went on to earn both her BSN and MSN from MNU, building a strong foundation rooted in academic excellence, faith, and mentorship. True to her lifelong love of learning, she continued her education, earning a Doctor of Education in Interdisciplinary Leadership and later completing a Doctor of Nursing Practice as a Family Nurse Practitioner.
Expanding Her Purpose
Along the way, Sarah served as a charge nurse, taught nursing students, presented at conferences, volunteered throughout the Greater Kansas City area, and helped strengthen nursing education locally and nationally. Her journey eventually led her into academic leadership, where she served for several years as dean of MNU’s School of Nursing.
Yet as meaningful as that role was, Sarah felt drawn back to the classroom.
Wanting to work more closely with students and mentor the next generation of nurses, Sarah returned to teaching and now serves as a professor of nursing at MNU. As a former adult learner herself, she understands the realities students face and is passionate about walking alongside them as they discover their own calling.
“There is no right time to invest in yourself,” Sarah says. “The time is now.”
Whether she’s teaching, mentoring, or sharing her own journey, Sarah’s story reflects the heart of MNU—where faith, learning, and purpose come together.
At MNU, purposeful lives don’t wait to begin. Purposeful lives start here. Want to learn more about a career of purpose in nursing? Check out mnu.edu/pgs-nursing.
