“Everyone’s journey is different,” says Danielle Hertzler who just graduated from MNU’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. She didn’t always know she wanted to be a nurse. In fact, Danielle’s first career was as a photographer.

“I was 31 when I enrolled at MNU, so this is my second life,” Danielle says.

Though she loved photography, owning her own business wasn’t as lucrative as she had hoped, so she took classes and became a Nationally Registered Certified Medical Assistant (NRCMA). Getting into the field of healthcare came naturally. Danielle’s mother is a travel nurse who instilled in her a strong passion for caring for people. Danielle enjoys her position working in cardiology with the University of Kansas Health System.

At some point, she determined she wanted to do more. It could have been her stint in Queens, New York, during COVID. Danielle and her mother were two of the healthcare professionals who were deployed to that hard-hit area early in the pandemic.

“It’s always been on my mom’s heart to respond to a need,” Danielle says. “So, when I learned she was going, I decided to go too.”

The work was very different from what they were used to due to scarce resources, make-shift facilities, and life-and-death situations.

“When you come back from an experience where you are not able to give care the way you want, you don’t want to do the bare minimum anymore,” she says.

Earning her nursing degree in an accelerated manner was a challenge and came after research into various nursing programs and some additional academic preparation. Learning about the ABSN program at her workplace job fair, she was attracted to MNU for the hands-on, tactile nature of the educational environment. MNU’s patient simulation center allows students to experience many scenarios they will encounter as nurses.