Joyce Peterson still remembers the day she got laughed
out of the employees' lounge at her old job. "We
were on break and one of my co-workers asked if any of us
ever thought we would go to college," she says. "I
said I wanted to become a registered nurse. People were
so shocked. They just started laughing. I guess they couldn't
picture it."
Joyce spent almost ten years after high school working
in retail jobs, first at an auto-parts shop and then at
a major department store. She was so unhappy with her job
she could barely get up to go to work each day. That's
why her co-workers thought she didn't have any ambition.
When her grandmother passed away, she finally made a change.
Joyce was very close to her grandmother and knew she always
wanted Joyce to go to college. When her grandmother died,
Joyce enrolled in college as soon as possible. She started
classes at a community college, with a focus on nursing.
Joyce loved learning. Her positive attitude helped her
get a better job right away, as a receptionist in a doctor's
office. Night classes at the community college were affordable,
so she finished her Associate's Degree on schedule
in two years.
She went to work as a nurse and continued to go to school.
Four years later, Joyce got her Bachelor's Degree
in Nursing. Now she's a registered nurse at a major
hospital.
" I never tried very hard when I worked in retail.
The low salary didn't motivate me," Joyce says.
"When I was in school, I knew I had to change my attitude.
Now I've reached my goal, but I wish my grandmother
could have seen me graduate. I know she's proud of
me, so that's a good feeling."
Joyce
Peterson
