They say it all started with Helen Koch’s great grandmother. In 1905, when Olive Cady enrolled at the St. Joseph Hospital for Educating Nurses in St. Joseph, Mo. as a nontraditional student, she began a legacy of nurses that continues today. And in recent history, many have earned their degrees from Missouri Western.
In December 2013, Ashley Nichols ’13 earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, joining her mother, grandmother, brother, sister-in-law and a host of cousins in the field. Nichols’ mother, Leslie Nichols ’77 & ’81, her grandmother, Helen Koch ’84, and her aunt and uncle, Teri ’80 and Bob ’74 Koch, all credit Missouri Western for their education and careers.
“Nursing is a disease in our family,” Helen says with a laugh. “We all just want to help people and serve.”
Helen started in a nursing program right out of high school but had to quit when she got married, because married women were not allowed in the program. So she always planned to go back and get her degree when her children were grown, and that is exactly what she did.
“It was her lifelong dream,” Leslie says of her mother. “She was my influence.”
Helen, who worked for a surgeon for several years before she earned her associate’s degree in nursing, said she was often accused of brainwashing her children into going into nursing, and she doesn’t deny it. “I’m very proud. I feel they have chosen a profession that will serve them well.”
Bob is a certified registered nurse anesthetist at a hospital in Carthage, Mo. and Teri is the director of quality management and infection control at a hospital in Joplin, Mo. “It’s been a good career,” Bob said.
Teri agreed. “You learn something new every day, and you feel like you make a difference.”
By the time Ashley graduated with a bachelor’s degree in health science from University of Missouri-Columbia in 2011, she had already decided to pursue a nursing degree at Missouri Western.
Both her mother and grandmother are pleased with Ashley’s career choice. “At first I was shocked and amazed,” Leslie said. “But she will be a very caring, wonderful nurse. She has the intelligence and the heart for it.”
Ashley said working one summer in a hospital convinced her that she would enjoy a nursing career. “Nursing is hands-on and you develop relationships with the patients.”
All the family members agreed that their education at Missouri Western prepared them well for their careers. Helen, Bob, Teri and Leslie all received associate degrees because Missouri Western didn’t begin offering bachelor’s degrees in nursing until 1986.
“The professors were great,” Teri said. “They were very supportive, but they had high expectations.”
Ashley praised her preparation for her career, as well. “My professors were wonderful. They did a great job of finding clinical sites that supported learning.”
And the legacy continues. Two of Ashley’s cousins, Claire Brockett and Cole Brockett are both currently attending Missouri Western and plan to major in nursing.
“My great grandmother is an inspiration to all of us,” Helen said.