“I didn\u2019t like the desk work,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t doing what I had gotten into criminal justice to do. I wanted to be hands on, and I wanted to be helping people.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always had a strong passion for helping people,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cI also love the variety of things that you can do in nursing. Every day is different.\u201d<\/p>\n
And he already knew UToledo. He’d picked up a bachelor\u2019s and a master\u2019s degree in criminal justice at the University in 2014 and 2017, respectively.<\/p>\n
With his graduation Saturday, he\u2019s excited to add his bachelor of science in nursing to his resume.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am completely confident Jeff will make an excellent nurse,\u201d said Pamela Alexander, a clinical lab associate in the College of Nursing who has worked closely with Nelson. \u201cHe is smart, kind, caring, patient and has a truly wonderful sense of humor. And he\u2019s extremely determined, which I believe has helped him achieve his goal of becoming a registered nurse.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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 \u2013 including nursing school.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Jeff](\"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/JEff-Nelson-STORY.jpg\")
Jeff Nelson is a military veteran who spent two decades working in criminal justice. He graduates Saturday with a bachelor\u2019s degree in nursing.<\/p><\/div>\n
Nursing isn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
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 \u2013 a security role at ProMedica Flower Hospital, for example.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t walk for a year.<\/p>\n
It was a difficult time, he recalled, and not just physically.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just kind of bouncing from job to job,\u201d he said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t sure what I wanted to do with my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nelson said he\u2019s 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\u2019s also enjoyed working as a nursing assistant in the Emergency Department at The University of Toledo Medical Center.<\/p>\n
After commencement Nelson intends to secure a full-time position in emergency medicine, where he\u2019s drawn to the quick pace and excitement of an environment that never sees two shifts alike. He\u2019s eyeing positions near his and his wife\u2019s new home in Napoleon.<\/p>\n
He said he\u2019s looking forward to embarking on a new career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so excited, I really am,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cI\u2019ve rediscovered my purpose and I cannot wait to start helping people as a nurse.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jeff Nelson is a military veteran who spent two decades working in criminal justice. He graduates Saturday with a bachelor\u2019s degree in nursing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":908,"featured_media":83646,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50,69,1,40,7],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83643"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/908"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83643"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83648,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83643\/revisions\/83648"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Graduation](\"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Graduation-Cap_blue-500x500-e1586882554282.png\")