When starting her first job after graduating from college, Brandi Jo Johansen (Hoerle) quickly realized her Midland University was paying off in a big way.

“I started working at Nebraska Medicine in Omaha, and I could tell from the start that my education I received put me so much further ahead. My education from Midland has really helped set me up for a successful journey in my nursing career.”

After graduating from Midland in 2006, Johansen would spend the next 16 years working in a variety of roles at Nebraska Medicine. She would also receive her Masters degree in Nursing Education from Clarkson College along the way. When the opportunity to return to northeast Nebraska and be closer to family presented itself, Johansen began work at the critical access hospital in Neligh, followed by a stint as a nursing supervisor in Plainview. This past August, an opportunity presented itself she couldn’t say no to.

“My dream has always been to teach nursing students and a job opened up as a Clinical Instructor at UNMC College of Nursing in Norfolk.”

Johansen arrived at Midland from smalltown Bartlett, Nebraska. “Coming from a very small town, I wanted that same feel from college. I also knew Midland had a great nursing program.

“Our group was one of the first to get to live in the apartment style dorms (Atchison, Lund) on campus. I was able to live with four of my fellow nursing students and a fellow volleyball player. We had so much fun living together.”

Johansen enjoys spending time with her husband (Jason) and three children (Noah, Payton, Finnley), being outside, and is an avid follower of Nebraska volleyball.

She is proud of the work she has done in a near 20-year nursing career and the people whose lives she has impacted along the way.

“I’m so grateful for all the patients I have had the honor of caring for in my years as a nurse. I also received the Nursing Leadership Award in 2021 after my team and I had the honor of opening one of the first Covid-19 units at Nebraska Medicine. I was also a finalist for the March of Dimes Nursing Leadership Award in 2021. Those were such huge honors, but it really was a team honor because I couldn’t have done it without the amazing team around me.”