Being a nurse often demands a calming, compassionate and resilient nature in the midst of chaos. Throughout her life, Sarah Widener has displayed these attributes as she overcame obstacles at home to become a role model for her patients and community.
Growing up in Columbus, Georgia, Widener describes her home life as difficult. When she could’ve easily taken paths that would’ve been detrimental to her future, she chose to invest in herself by focusing on her education when she was able to get out of a challenging situation during her senior year of high school.
“By investing in myself, I broke a lot of generational patterns,” Widener said.
Widener became a first-generation college graduate by earning her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Columbus State University in 2019. She chose the profession because of her compassion for others, especially children.
“I always loved caring for people,” she said. “My [nursing] background has been a little bit of everything but predominantly pediatric nursing. What drove me to pediatric nursing was realizing these kids need advocates.”
Widener says some of her best memories are seeing her young patients overcome traumatic experiences.
“Working as a pediatric ICU nurse, you see patients come in on the worst day of their life,” Widener said. “But you then get to care for them to the point of discharge and see them walking and talking again. Watching them improve in their overall health are my happiest moments.”
Although her career was fulfilling, she wanted to learn more and decided to reinvest in her education in 2023 by pursing a graduate degree. When looking for online programs, she was immediately attracted to the Capstone College of Nursing for its high National Council Licensure Examination pass rate, which was 100% among 2024 graduates.
Widener chose to pursue her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree online because it allowed her to continue to work full time while earning credit and clinical hours.
“The financial affordability and the versatile flexibility of the BSN to DNP program offered through UA Online is what initially drew my interest to obtaining my degree from UA,” Widener said. “Taking courses through UA Online felt comparable to an in-person experience due to the kind, understanding and personable learning environment provided.”
While Widener admits she learns better from hands-on experiences, she credits UA for providing innovative learning tools for distance learners.
“I’m a see-it, do-it-in-person learner,” she said. “But UA accommodates different learning styles very well. Students pay for a subscription and UA sends resources to our houses, like fake skin, to learn how to suture so we feel comfortable before we got to clinicals.”
Widener hopes other nurses who are uncertain about furthering their education will seize the opportunity like she did.
“Any nurse with their bachelor’s degree that is currently on the fence about committing to the BSN to DNP program at UA should know just how flexible the process really is,” she said. “The program is specifically tailored to allow students to still work full time as a nurse while actively engaging in coursework, as the school offers both part-time and full-time programs of study.”
As Widener completes the master’s degree portion on her DNP pathway this weekend and will finish her coursework next spring, she is soaking in the moment, knowing there was a time when it seemed nearly impossible.
“My proudest accomplishment is being where I am right now,” she said. “I never envisioned myself getting a graduate-level degree. I’m at a point higher than where I ever thought I would be. So many doors and opportunities have been opened for me.”