Deonne Wright, a student in the first intake of practical nurses at CNC’s Lakes District campus, has wanted a career in a caring profession all her life.
Originally, she thought she wanted to become a veterinarian. When the opportunity to take practical nursing (PN) in Burns Lake arose, she jumped at the chance.
When Deonne applied for her high school transcripts, however, she discovered she was missing a course and hadn’t officially graduated. On top of that, she would need several other prerequisite courses before she could be accepted into the PN program.
To prepare students like Deonne for nursing, CNC offered a Pathway to Nursing Program comprised of the courses needed to enter the program. Dionne buckled in and registered for Biology 12, Biology 130, two levels of math, pre-calculus and English 12.
To qualify, Deonne needed to maintain a B+ average but she found the online delivery of Biology 130 to be particularly challenging.
“I missed the mark in that class the first time,” she said.
Deonne enrolled in Biology 130 again. This time, however, it was offered through Digital Delivery Instruction (DDI) and her experience was entirely different.
“DDI was awesome,” she said. “And I passed!”
At 37, Deonne said returning to school has been tough. After high school, she married and soon had two children. Though her children are now older, she said it’s still difficult to find time for the three to four hours of homework with a busy life of hockey, housework and meals.
But she’s determined and admires the students in her class travelling from the Southside and Fraser Lake to attend the program.
“A number of girls in the course wouldn’t be taking this if it wasn’t close to home,” Deonne said. “I am very thankful it has been offered in Burns Lake.”