F or many, college is about change. Students grow in more ways than one. Class of 2022 graduate Rosemary Macuch epitomizes that.

She came to Georgia College with no clear plan or career path. Yet taking one course completely changed her trajectory.

“What influenced me most was my anatomy class with Dr. Kwan Christenson,” Macuch said. “All of my friends told me not to take that class because it's really, hard, but I just loved it.”

Until then Macuch says she’d never studied anything that could keep her interested, but she became fascinated with the human body and how it works. That fascination led her to nursing.

“It's definitely changed my life,” she said. “I've never been a part of a program that has taken such wonderful care of its students and been so involved with our success.”

As a member of Georgia College’s nationally recognized nursing program, Macuch flourished.

She took on leadership roles in the Georgia College Association of Nursing Students and worked as a Supplemental Instructor (SI) and Supplemental Coach in the Learning Center—helping other students who may struggle in courses.

“I actually started off as an SI leader for Dr. Christenson’s anatomy class, and then I got the wonderful opportunity to move up to the position of SI coach,” she said.

“I host weekly meetings with all SI leaders. We meet and go over their session plans,” she added. “I can give them advice. I can give them guidance. I can help them resolve issues that they're having with students or the professors. 

Her experiences inside and outside the classroom helped mold her into the person she is today. Nursing Lecturer and Clinical Coordinator Karen Schwartz noted that during her clinicals, patients responded to Macuch like she’d never seen before.

“In my obstetric clinical, Rosemary stood out as energetic and eager to serve and learn,” Schwartz said. “When given the choice, patients vocally chose to have Rosemary at their side as they delivered their babies.”

One patient's mother even asked to send a card to Macuch as a thank you for the kindness and care she provided.  

“During my clinicals, I just loved it. It was such an incredible experience,” she said. “I didn't realize how intimate and how wonderful those moments are. That's when I was like, ‘This is something that I feel like I could really see myself doing.’”  

Her clinical experience solidified her career choice and led her to her new job she’ll start this summer as a labor and delivery nurse at Doctors Hospital in Augusta.  

Throughout her undergraduate journey, she’s felt supported by the incredible faculty at Georgia College. 

“Dr. Kwan Christenson has been so wonderful and guided me through so many things. Dr. Talecia Warren, from the nursing department, Mrs. Karen Schwartz, who was my clinical instructor for OB, and Dr. Marshall Smith, who spent so much time with me in class,” Macuch said. “They were just so great.”

“Georgia College prepared me for the world in so many ways,” she said “I really owe the things I’ve accomplished to everyone here. Mrs. Jeanne Haslam and Rebecca Cofer from the Learning Center shaped the way I view teamwork and leadership, and the more I reflected on it, I wanted everyone to know that so much of who I am as a nurse and an employee is an amalgamation of the wonderful characteristics of everyone who has guided me.”

For other students, she offers this advice.

“Set goals that you think are unreachable. My freshman year I had no idea what I wanted to do. I struggled with some classes, and I never would have thought that I could do something like this,” Macuch said.