Her professors at Midland University made such an impact on Morgan Ridenour ‘18 that she has decided to follow in their footsteps.

“The professors in the nursing program really paid attention to every student and I felt like I could always go to them for help,” Ridenour said. “I enjoyed my time in the program, and because of them, I plan on becoming a nursing professor in the near future to give nursing students the same help and support that I received.”

Morgan’s path to Midland was jump-started thanks to a friend who was already enrolled in the nursing program and convinced her to follow her to Midland. Coming from California, Morgan felt an immediate bond with the nursing program and began to develop her skills as a nurse. “I felt very prepared to take the NCLEX (nationwide examination for nurses). The nursing program is well-structured and supports its students to do their best,” she said. “The advice I got was to start out in a medical-surgical specialty, then branch out from there. That made me more comfortable with trying different departments after I worked in medical-surgical for a few years. I’ve worked in different specialties since graduating and I’ve loved it all.”

Morgan currently serves as a traveling nurse in Grants Pass, Oregon. “Becoming a traveling nurse is one of my proudest accomplishments,” she said. “I experienced caregiver burnout during Covid-19, and I decided I needed a change of scenery and began to travel all over California, Washington, and Oregon as a traveling nurse. I loved every part of that experience and would love to do it again someday.

“I’m also very proud of becoming a board-certified medical-surgical nurse and a charge nurse and am working on becoming a board-certified oncology/chemotherapy nurse and a board-certified infusion nurse.”

Morgan is engaged and will be getting married next year in Italy. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, hiking, and traveling.