“What a Saint Mary’s education means to me is that people don’t underestimate you.”
Torchbearer
“College can be a tough transition for many girls, but at Saint Mary’s there will always be someone there for you,” says nursing major Colleen Murray. “Saint Mary’s is a college where just about everyone knows everyone else. The students are all supportive of one another.” This is good advice from the returning senior and native of Darien, Ill. Colleen is following in the footsteps of her mother, Irene Kenny Murray ’82, also a graduate of Saint Mary’s nursing program, “and an awesome nurse,” describes Colleen. She says that her nursing classes have been her favorite classes but she particularly enjoyed her obstetric nursing class because she is considering a career as a neonatal or labor and delivery nurse. She credits nursing professor Annette Peacock-Johnson with being “helpful and encouraging—which is definitely appreciated by all students, especially in such a demanding major,” says Colleen.
Colleen has been active at Saint Mary’s, participating in the Saint May’s Irish Dance club, and the Student Nurses Association. With a future that points toward graduate school, Colleen will also be looking into positions at Chicago area hospitals.
“The best part of being a student here is knowing that I’ll be graduating not only with an excellent education, but also lifelong friends,” says Colleen. “The people you get to know at Saint Mary’s are really amazing and wonderful women.”