How Auja Boatwright Balanced Parenting, Work, and Nursing School

# Overview

# Why she decided to go back

# How she managed school, work, and parenting

# What the program delivered

The program emphasized hands-on learning. Auja, who identifies as a hands-on learner, used simulation labs to practice intramuscular and subcutaneous injections and participated in triage simulations that taught prioritization of care. She reports repeated moments where clinical tasks matched what she learned in the lab: "Oh, I know how to do that because ECPI taught me how to do that." That direct translation of lab skills to clinical settings gave her confidence to step in and help at work.

# Pinning and personal motivation

The pinning ceremony was emotional for Auja. Nursing runs in her family: her mother pursued nursing before she died, her grandmother raised her and was a nurse, and two sisters are nurses. Her baby sister pinned her at the ceremony, a moment Auja calls tear-jerking and something that brought the journey full circle.

# First LPN role and early feedback

Auja began working as an LPN on a psychiatric floor. A professor knowledgeable in psychiatric care influenced her interest in the area, and within two months of starting her LPN training, her preceptor and manager offered strong positive feedback. Her preceptor left a note predicting she would "do awesome work"—feedback that reinforced that her path and choices were correct.

# Practical advice for parents considering school

Auja's advice is concrete. She says ECPI's flexibility and transparent expectations made returning to school possible for a single mother of three. There was no waiting list and the program's schedule allowed her to plan. Her closing message: "If I can do it, you can do it too." She plans to continue her nursing education and build on what she's accomplished.