All Roads [Eventfully] Lead to Nursing

When Thomas Radel graduated from UB SON in 1985 with a master’s in nurse anesthesia, his daughters were but a twinkle in his eye – he had no way of knowing that they, and their big brother Michael, would one day follow in his footsteps, after first navigating their own unique course.

Catherine Glawatz's path to nursing revealed itself early on, though she had other plans. “An assessment in high school pegged me as a health care worker,” Catherine recalls, “but I wanted to get married and stay home with my babies.”

While her boyfriend, now husband, was in college, she decided to, in the meantime, direct that love for children toward pursuing an associate’s in child development. Then, when fertility issues arose for the couple after they got married, Catherine realized the incredible impact nurses have on peoples’ lives.

“What a powerful job [nurses] have, that in such a hard, confusing time they could make me feel so much better. That’s when I realized nursing was really my calling, and I had missed it,” she explains of her new path. “I saw the impact of nursing in fertility and every other aspect of medicine, so while trying to get pregnant, I started taking prerequisites for the program.”

As fate would have it, Catherine got pregnant with her son when she finished her prerequisites. She is currently a traditional BS student (and very proud mom!) expected to graduate in May 2017.

Like her sister, Monica Radel took a sort of indirect path to nursing, working in customer service after earning her master’s degree in communication and leadership. Also like her sister, she was passionate about caring for and interacting with people – a passion that led her to work as an aid at a memory care facility, and to the realization that she wanted something more hands on than a desk job.

“I had never really worked with people in that capacity before, but from the beginning I really loved it,” Monica beams. “I loved the ability to establish that connection with people and their family during their hardest time, so [nursing] was a logical step – I made the switch when I realized I wanted to have a more direct, positive effect on peoples' lives.

So Monica, who her family lovingly jokes is a “career student,” forged forward, earning her BS in nursing in May 2016 through the ABS program.

Ironically, the sisters’ father also took an indirect path to nursing, first earning a degree in mathematics and becoming a teacher before a nurse anesthetist. Seeing his daughters and son land in nursing, they say, has made him incredibly proud. It has also provided the siblings with an intricate support network – and with the knowledge of the value of mutual support among nurses.

“We have a group text message between the two of us and our brother and dad – we share what we learned that day or ask questions,” Monica says as she turns to Catherine, and both share a laugh. “Sometimes, we might be looking for a quick answer, but we usually get diagrams.”

“We’re also really lucky because our mom is an EMT and was a volunteer firefighter – she and our dad both went on medical missions, so they can relate to that emotional and difficult side of care,” Catherine adds. “And, our maternal grandmother and an aunt are both nurses.”

“I have also never experienced friendships quite like the ones I have with other nursing students,” Monica says. “I think having that support on this path is so important to thriving in this field.

“It’s really important for us to do what our dad and brother did – make a model of nursing that is beyond what people see or typically imagine. We want to set an example, to highlight all of the opportunities it can provide – we want to show the true impact nurses have in the community.”

The siblings are well on their way to achieving this — and they can thank their family for that — not just their parents, siblings and significant others, but also their brand new extended family of nurses.

-SARAH GOLDTHRITE