She didn’t give up: Nontraditional nursing graduate finds purpose, perseverance, community at Georgia Southern

When Melissa Miles crosses the commencement stage this December, she won’t just celebrate the end of a rigorous academic journey, she will honor herself by accomplishing her lifelong dream of becoming a nurse.

Miles waited patiently through marriage, raising children, a previous career in teaching and helping with grandchildren before finally giving herself permission to pursue her dream. Her first major pause came when she decided she needed to take time off to support her family.

“I always wanted to do nursing,” Miles said. “But I got married, had kids and they became my focus.”

Once her children were grown, Miles took a leap of faith and returned to the classroom. She began her prerequisites with her oldest daughter in 2021. Going back to school with a familiar face helped Miles ease her way back into academic life.

“There was this student who sat next to me in class who also sat at my dinner table,” she laughed. “It was sweet.”

She felt she had finally found the balance between family and her academic responsibilities, but as she began pursuing her nursing degree, life once again led her to put her academic pursuits on hold when her family needed her full attention.

During this break, Miles realized she was too close to the finish line of a bachelor’s degree to give up. In 2022, she completed a health sciences degree from Georgia Southern.

“It was exciting for me and for my family to see me graduate,” she said. “But my husband looked at me and said, ‘Ok, that’s not what you want to do. You don’t want to sit at a desk in a hospital.’ He was right.”

A call from her advisor and her husband’s support encouraged Miles to reapply to the nursing program.

“I was so scared to open the letter,” she admitted. “But when I saw that I got in, it was one of the most unexpected and proudest moments of my life.”

Between balancing family, work shifts in an emergency room and the demanding program, Miles knew this would be no small feat.

“There were missed dinners, missed bedtime stories,” she said. “But it was worth it. I just kept remembering my why.”

Her family was her driving force through the nursing program at Georgia Southern.

“I wanted them to see me do something for myself,” she said. “If their 44-year-old mama could go back and get a very hard degree, they could know that they have time to figure out their own paths.”

Miles proudly calls herself a nontraditional student. At Georgia Southern, she never once felt out of place.

“Some of my closest friendships are with people the same age as my kids,” she laughed. “They welcomed me. They treated me like a peer.”

Miles emphasized that Georgia Southern has shaped her to be more than prepared for her future. She credits her success to the support that she found, especially among the School of Nursing faculty in the Waters College of Health Professions.

“The professors have been amazing,” she said. “They understood where I was coming from, but they didn’t let me slack off. They encouraged me.”

Miles found one professor in particular, Mary Bester, Ph.D., who made a profound impact on her journey.

“She saw me for me, not just Rebecca’s mom,” Miles said. “She remembered my family, my grandkids. She listened. Being seen like that made such a difference.”

Before joining the program, Miles believed she wanted to be a labor and delivery nurse. However, through summer classes and an ICU rotation, Miles discovered her true professional passion.

“I fell in love with the ICU,” Miles said. “It’s like a puzzle balancing things, figuring things out, staying organized. The teamwork there was unlike anything I’d seen. I saw their compassion. I realized this is where I’m meant to be.”

Miles hopes to inspire others and show that it’s never too late.

“Just do it,” she said. “There will be days you want to throw in the towel, but don’t. Find your balance. Find your people. And remember your why. If one person at home sees me walk across that stage and thinks, ‘If she can do it, I can do it,’ then that means everything.”

With a signed contract to work in the ICU at Memorial Health in Savannah, Miles finally sees her dream coming to fruition.

“I didn’t give up,” Miles said. “I persevered. Now I get to help others not give up too.”