Jeff Nelson knew it was time for a change.
He was drifting from desk job to desk job after a serious on-the-job injury forced him to medically resign as a deputy sheriff. These positions kept him nominally in the criminal justice field in which he’d been working for two decades, but they weren’t fulfilling.
CELEBRATING SUCCESS: UToledo recognizes the Class of 2023 with a series of stories featuring students receiving their degrees at fall commencement.
“I didn’t like the desk work,” Nelson said. “I wasn’t doing what I had gotten into criminal justice to do. I wanted to be hands on, and I wanted to be helping people.”
Then came a conversation with a representative of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, who suggested the disabled military veteran take advantage of the program Veteran Readiness and Employment, formerly called Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment. Nelson learned that, with certain requirements met, the program would pay for him to go back to school to train in a new field.
His choice? Nursing at The University of Toledo.
“I’ve always had a strong passion for helping people,” Nelson said. “I also love the variety of things that you can do in nursing. Every day is different.”
And he already knew UToledo. He’d picked up a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in criminal justice at the University in 2014 and 2017, respectively.
With his graduation Saturday, he’s excited to add his bachelor of science in nursing to his resume.
“I am completely confident Jeff will make an excellent nurse,” said Pamela Alexander, a clinical lab associate in the College of Nursing who has worked closely with Nelson. “He is smart, kind, caring, patient and has a truly wonderful sense of humor. And he’s extremely determined, which I believe has helped him achieve his goal of becoming a registered nurse.
“I feel extremely fortunate to have had him as a student. He taught me that despite adversity in life, you can still pursue and excel in anything you put your mind to – including nursing school.”
Jeff Nelson is a military veteran who spent two decades working in criminal justice. He graduates Saturday with a bachelor’s degree in nursing.
Nursing isn’t entirely unprecedented for Nelson, a Sylvania native who nearly began his nursing career straight out of high school. He started a program locally before he set his sights more firmly on a career in criminal justice.
He went on to serve in the U.S. Army Reserve from 2001 to 2009, and worked stateside in a wide variety of roles in his chosen field including a few that put him in close proximity to healthcare professionals – a security role at ProMedica Flower Hospital, for example.
The life-changing injury happened in 2010. His leg was broken during a prison riot outside of Atlanta, and the numerous surgeries and complications that followed meant that he couldn’t walk for a year.
It was a difficult time, he recalled, and not just physically.
“I was just kind of bouncing from job to job,” he said. “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life.”
Nelson said he’s found his answer in the nursing program, as well as the support of fellow students and instructors like Alexander and Rachel Sinnott, another clinical lab associate. He’s also enjoyed working as a nursing assistant in the Emergency Department at The University of Toledo Medical Center.
After commencement Nelson intends to secure a full-time position in emergency medicine, where he’s drawn to the quick pace and excitement of an environment that never sees two shifts alike. He’s eyeing positions near his and his wife’s new home in Napoleon.
He said he’s looking forward to embarking on a new career.
“I’m so excited, I really am,” Nelson said. “I’ve rediscovered my purpose and I cannot wait to start helping people as a nurse.”
