From the time she was a child, Ashley DeShields had a vague sense that she would choose a profession that would enable her to help people. She was in her 30s, though, when she realized that meant a career in nursing.

“My mom was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer, and I watched her go through a bilateral mastectomy and all the treatments,” DeShields says. “Seeing the role of the nurses, how they interacted with my mom and with us, the family, I felt like they were superheroes in so many ways. That was my ‘aha’ moment. I wanted to be that person for somebody else.”

This story also features expert opinions, business briefs and people in the news: SouthWestern State College

 

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