Anna Grace Baker has a heart for service. She comes from a family of firefighters and EMTs. And while nursing is her career of choice, she has a fire within that drives her to succeed. She’s using the abundant resources at The University of Alabama to blaze her own path.
Driven to Succeed
Baker, a senior from Clanton, Alabama, has twirled a baton since she was four years old. Couple that with her desire to help others, and she knew UA was where she could excel at both.
“My coach was a Crimsonette and my family members are all Alabama fans, so I knew all about them and wanted to do that,” said Baker.
The Crimsonette program and the Capstone College of Nursing both carry the prestige of being highly selective. Baker applied to the nursing program and auditioned for Crimsonettes but didn’t make either on her first attempt.
“At UA, the nursing program also has a support system here for you. They want to see you succeed.”
“When I applied to nursing the first time, I didn’t pass on the first try,” she said. “That was heartbreaking, but I knew I wanted to do this.”
Baker’s first audition for Crimsonettes was also challenging, since coronavirus protocols were still in place and she had to audition virtually.
But these setbacks didn’t derail Baker’s plans.
“I had already declared a minor in psychology, and so I focused on that,” she said. “Plus, I knew being a Crimsonette would be a lot of work, so I took this time to just be a student first.”
Around this time, Baker was facing other challenges off campus, too.
“Right before I moved here my dad was in a bad car wreck,” Baker said. “I went home a lot at first. When I knew he would be OK, I started training myself to stay in Tuscaloosa longer and longer.”
Baker would be the first in her family to graduate from UA, and she had goals she wasn’t giving up.
“I wanted to be at UA and see this through,” she said. “I asked myself, ‘What am I going to do to hold myself accountable?’”
Fully Involved in Nursing … Twirling
Fast forward a bit, and Baker is now embarking on her fourth year in nursing and being a Crimsonette.
“I think what most people don’t realize is that we have to audition (for Crimsonettes) every year. No one’s spot is guaranteed,” she said. “So that’s motivation to keep working and improving to get to come back every year.”
Her nursing courses and schedule, while rigorous, are motivation as well. The nationally recognized clinical simulation lab at the Capstone College of Nursing was just one resource that brought her plans further into focus.
“I was always looking into anesthesiology and thought about becoming a certified registered nurse practitioner,” said Baker. “But I know now I want to eventually be a preceptor.”
Preceptors are experienced and licensed clinicians who mentor students and new nurses during their clinical rotations. The in-depth, hands-on experience in the lab helped solidify that plan.
“Last semester was kind of the first semester we’ve been on our own during simulation. But basically, everything is controlled in a room that we cannot see,” said Baker. The students are given some information on what’s about to happen, and they dive right in.
“It’s just kind of a full circle moment. You know, that was me several years ago. And now I’m here.”
“It’s a very real situation. The last one of the semester was a stroke patient, and one minute he was perfectly fine sitting up, talking to you. And then all of a sudden, he’s completely unresponsive. And so, of course, they can’t talk to you,” Baker said.
“There was a stroke situation recently when I was working in the ICU and I was like, ‘Okay, this is what we did in the sim lab.’”
Baker loves sharing what she’s learning with other nursing majors going through the program.
“Since my second semester, I’ve been working with other students, helping them stay on task,” she said. “I get to meet new people that way but also stay with the same cohort through the whole experience.”
UA Prepared Baker for the Future
Between nursing clinicals and Crimsonette practice, Baker’s day is full, and it’s preparing her for life after college.
“I’ve had to learn how to prioritize. What to study each day, and kind of break it down because there’s no way I could do everything in one day,” she said. “So time management and staying on a schedule are important. I’ve never been a planner person. I have learned how to do that, and it has been very helpful.”
The Capstone College of Nursing currently has a 100% pass rate for the National Council Licensure Exam required to become a licensed registered nurse in the U.S. and Canada.
Baker has seen firsthand that students are given the tools to succeed even through the highest of expectations.
“You can’t let the pressure get to you,” she said. “And don’t put that pressure on yourself. When I was focusing on my psychology minor, the mental health courses really helped me through nursing. At UA, the nursing program also has a support system here for you. They want to see you succeed.”
Baker intends to continue her Crimsonette experience beyond UA as well.
“I definitely want to coach baton after graduation. I always came to the games and did the elephant stomp and all of that. And I really and truly looked up to (the Crimsonettes),” Baker said.
“And now little girls run up to me on game day and they want to take pictures with me. And it’s just kind of a full circle moment. You know, that was me several years ago. And now I’m here.”
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Contact
Jennifer Brady, UA Strategic Communications, jennifer.brady@ua.edu