Student Profile: Katelyn Massey
By Hope Coleman, Academic and Spiritual Counselor
If you are one who likes challenges, and in particular the challenge of hiking, you will likely connect on an emotional level with Katelyn Massey. Katelyn is a recent graduate from Baptist Health College Little Rock in the nursing accelerated track. Her journey is much like the challenge of hiking up a steep mountain, a mountain like Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park, Utah.
When Katelyn was in high school in Mt Vernon, Arkansas (population 146), she wasn’t quite sure what she was going to do in life, or even if she had it in her to accomplish any life goals. It felt like standing at the base of a mountain, looking up, and telling yourself, “there’s no way I can make it to the top.” That’s how Katelyn felt. However, she began her hike and accomplished some things along the way. She got married and moved to Oklahoma with her husband who worked in the oil industry. They soon began their family and had two sons. These steps seemed easy and pretty natural. Then she decided to go to nursing school and the climb got a little more difficult.
She enrolled at Canadian Valley Technical Center in El Reno, Oklahoma and graduated with a certificate as a practical nurse. During the next seven years she was a stay at home mom and she worked seasonally as an LPN doing immunizations. Additionally, she took prerequisites from Rose State College in Midwest City, Oklahoma. This part of the climb was a little more demanding because she was a full-time wife, mother, and LPN while working to position herself for a nursing program to become an RN. It felt a lot like hiking switchbacks up a mountain with an 8-10% elevation.
Katelyn and her family moved back to Arkansas in 2023 to be closer to family and that’s when she hit her stride and moved more quickly up the mountain. She enrolled at BHCLR in the nursing accelerated track which, when completed, would give her an RN credential in 12 months. At first she didn’t know if she could make it, but faculty instructors like Dr. Stacy Palmer and Georgia Seward invested in her and encouraged her all along the way. And, there are five nurses in Katelyn’s family who have also encouraged her and supported her. They were all like her hiking guides leading her up the best path.
Katelyn completed the RNA program in December 2024 and graduated with honors. She has accepted a job in CCU at BHMC-LR and will begin working there very soon. You may think that Katelyn’s hike up the mountain is complete. But you would be wrong. For Katelyn, there is still more to see, explore, and experience. Katelyn’s journey is ongoing. She has enrolled in a BSN completer program at UALR that begins in January 2025. When she is finished there, she plans to work on a Master’s degree in nursing and become a nurse practitioner. After that, who knows? The sky is the limit because Katelyn will be on top of the mountain and have a clear view from where she has come and where she wants to go. So, tie up your boots, Katelyn, and keeping on hiking.