From: B.S. in Nursing, 2022
To: Clinical Manager, Corewell Health

 

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gladys Pico-Gleason was juggling an already demanding job as a care manager at Corewell Health with vaccine clinics at night.

It was hectic and, at times, heartbreaking. But the experience also reinforced something Pico-Gleason already knew: She wanted to keep growing in her nursing career.

She had earned her associate degree in nursing and was working directly with patients, but she knew a bachelor’s degree would open the door to greater opportunities, particularly in leadership. A friend recommended Davenport University.

When she enrolled in Davenport’s nursing program, Pico-Gleason found a program that allowed her to balance school with a full-time career and family responsibilities.

“I remember staying up and falling asleep at my computer late at night, and there was one time when I wasn’t going to get an assignment done on time. I was really stressed out about it,” she said. “So, I reached out to the professor and asked for an extra 24 hours, and she gave me a few days. That was so compassionate. It showed me that Davenport really wants you to succeed.”

The flexibility of online learning was particularly valuable as Pico-Gleason balanced school, work and raising children. Just because she wasn’t on campus, though, didn’t mean she felt disconnected from her professors or classmates.

Her education also expanded her understanding of what nursing could look like beyond direct patient care. It gave her a broader understanding of “the business behind nursing” and the higher-level thinking required for leadership, including process improvement, research and working within larger systems such as public health and hospital organizations.

That knowledge became increasingly valuable as Pico-Gleason considered where she wanted her career to go next.

When she graduated, in 2022, she wasn’t actively looking for another job. But she knew that if an opportunity to move into leadership came along, having a bachelor’s degree would likely be a requirement.

About a year later, that opportunity found her.

“Davenport prepared me for that role. Having my degree was like having the ticket to even apply for it,” Pico-Gleason said.

Today, Pico-Gleason is a clinical manager at Corewell Health’s Lemmen-Holton Cancer Pavilion, putting the leadership skills and broader perspective she developed at Davenport to work in her career.

For Pico-Gleason, though, being prepared for the next opportunity was only part of what Davenport gave her. Just as important was having the confidence to pursue it.

“They won’t give you the job, and nothing in life is guaranteed. But what I can say is that you will get the skills that you need so that you’re better prepared to go out into the world and make your way,” she said.

That’s what Davenport ultimately represents to Pico-Gleason: opportunity and the freedom to choose what comes next.

“What Davenport has meant to me is opportunity,” she said. “It’s given me options in life, as well as perspective, connections and just the ability to make choices so that I can take whatever path it is that I want.”