Tina Cameron has practiced nursing for 28 years, and in May 2018 she went back to school to earn her Bachelor of Science in Nursing through The University of Alabama’s online program. She earned her associate degree in nursing from a technical school in Columbia, South Carolina, where she’s from, but she had been out of school for more than a decade when she decided to go back for her BSN.
Tina has always been an Alabama fan and when her son, Corey, attended UA as an on-campus student for his undergraduate degree, she became even more devoted. “I made numerous trips to Tuscaloosa and just fell in love with the campus, the environment of Tuscaloosa, the people,” Tina said.
When Tina started thinking about going back to school after her younger son, Hunter, began his own college journey, she knew Alabama was the place for her. “Once my younger son started college, I was like ‘You know what, I think I want to go back.’ I read about Alabama’s nursing program and was like, ‘That’s where I want to go,’” Tina said.
Once Tina saw that UA Online accepted students from South Carolina and that she could complete the entire program online — except for clinicals, which she could conveniently complete in her hometown — she immediately started working on her prerequisites for the program.
“I got accepted into the nursing program and it was probably, next to the birth of my children, one of the happiest days of my life,” Tina said.
Tina had only praise for the nursing program. “You can’t beat the tuition and I cannot say enough about the professors.”
She is grateful for the professors that have been flexible and easy to reach, specifically Dr. Michelle Cheshire, who has been Tina’s favorite professor and even wrote her a letter of recommendation for Tina to apply to the master’s program. In November 2018, when South Carolina experienced severe hurricane weather, Tina said that both of her professors that semester contacted her to make sure that she and her family were safe.
“One of them emailed me and [Dr. Cheshire] even called to check on me and to say, ‘If you need a coursework extension or lose power, let us know. We’re here for you,’” Tina said. “And then they followed up a few days later just to make sure that I was okay.”
Tina currently works at Lexington Medical Center in West Columbia, South Carolina, where she is a certified oncology nurse working Friday and Sunday nights. She’s worked in oncology for 25 years and having her bachelor’s will allow her to take on a leadership role or give her the capability to teach on the days she isn’t working at the hospital.
In her free time, Tina volunteers at her local zoo and homeless shelter. In fact, her work at the zoo sparked her creativity for the design on her graduation cap.
“I wore my son’s cap and I was torn for the longest time between putting the Script A or an elephant on it,” she said. “I ended up doing an elephant because they’re my favorite and since I volunteer at the zoo.”
Tina said she gained a lot from her experience and feels that she is a better nurse since obtaining her BSN degree. “This has been a really amazing experience, especially being an older nurse and an older student.”
Even though she just completed her BSN, Tina can’t get enough of UA and began her Master of Science in Nursing with a concentration in Nurse Administrator in August. She expects to graduate in summer of 2021 and, who knows, now that she’ll have a second chance to walk for Commencement, maybe she can put that bedazzled Script A on her cap this time after all.
Published: August 30th, 2020