When Amanda Zarebski was a senior in high school, she had many important decisions to make, including what her next chapter would look like and what career path was right for her. She knew she wanted to follow in her sister’s footsteps and go to college, so after much soul-searching, she decided to continue her education at Davenport University to earn her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). She has since returned to Davenport to earn a Master of Business Administration (MBA).

Nursing quickly rose to the top of Zarebski’s list of possible careers because it’s a fast-growing field that will always be in demand and offers a variety of positions. 

She chose Davenport primarily because of its direct admit nursing program, which is available to high school students with a 3.5+ GPA and a 1160+ SAT or 24+ ACT.

Debbie Bosworth, Davenport’s nursing program director, said the university offers several different pathways into its nursing program, including high school direct admit. “It gives qualified students a clearly defined route into the BSN Pre-Licensure program and can remove some of the uncertainty that often comes with applying to nursing school after completing prerequisites,” she said. “By providing clear pathways, we help students see that becoming a nurse isn’t just a future goal; it’s a future they can begin building today.”

Another factor that led her to choose Davenport is that its W.A. Lettinga Grand Rapids Campus is close to home, making it convenient for her to visit family and friends often. “I also loved the apartment-style housing units at South Hall,” she said. “After taking a tour, I knew they couldn’t be beat!”

Zarebski, who graduated with her BSN in April, 2023, enjoyed Davenport’s nursing program, but was especially impressed with the nursing faculty. “Because our class sizes were relatively small, our instructors got to know us as individuals,” she said. “They were approachable and dedicated, and most importantly, they were passionate about our education and invested in our success.” 

She admits that the nursing program was tough, but it was a challenge she readily welcomed. “The classes were pretty rigorous, but that was good because it pushed me to develop strong critical thinking and time management skills,” she said. “We were taught to think beyond simply memorizing information and encouraged to apply what we learned in class to real patient situations, enabling us to make sound clinical decisions.” 

Zarebski said the supportive faculty and the program’s focus on building critical-thinking skills also helped her prepare for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), the exam nurses must take to obtain their professional licenses. “Learning to be a critical thinker helped me pass the exam and lay the foundation for my success as an inpatient nurse,” she said. 

While Zarebski said she doesn’t think anyone can be 100% prepared for their first day on the job as a nurse, Davenport’s nursing program gave her a solid starting point from which to build upon. “We started clinical rotations during our sophomore year, which gave me a lot of early exposure to patient care in a variety of healthcare settings, like adult care, pediatrics, mental health, labor and delivery, nursing leadership in the neonatal intensive care unit and community health,” she said. “Those experiences helped build my confidence and exposed me to many of the different specialties available within nursing.”

Zarebski’s belief that nursing jobs would be readily available proved accurate. While she was a nursing student at Davenport, she worked as a nurse extern at Trinity Health, a position that gave her valuable experience under the supervision of the nursing staff and secured a clear path to employment.  

As her Davenport graduation approached, she applied for and was accepted to Trinity Health’s one-year nurse residency program, which includes additional training and support for first-year nurses. Just two months after receiving her degree, she was working full-time as an RN in Trinity Health’s intensive care unit.

Her nursing degree then opened a new door, one at the Kent County Health Department, where she is now working as a Public Health Nurse in the Children’s Special Health Care Services (CSHC) program, and loving it. 

In her role, she helps families who have children with serious medical conditions navigate the complex healthcare system, obtain needed medications and equipment, assist with enrolling in the CSHCS program, help resolve billing/pharmacy issues, coordinate appointments, arrange transportation to medical appointments, connect them with other local community resources, and more. She also conducts home visits to assist the community’s most vulnerable families. 

“I love assisting families during some of their hardest times,” she said. “There really isn’t anything that I can’t help a family with, and if I can’t, I can find an organization that can. This job has made me more knowledgeable on a variety of complex issues and made me more confident as a nurse.”

As much as Zarebski loves what she’s doing, she didn’t want to limit herself, which prompted her to pursue an MBA. “I chose to get an MBA at Davenport because it will give me a broader understanding of leadership, finance, operations and strategy. Plus, I’m really enjoying some of the business classes, especially marketing,” she said. 

Zarebski is also a proud first-generation college graduate. While her parents did not attend college, her older sister did. “I’m glad that my sister was a good role model,” she said. “I looked up to her, and she paved the way for my own college experience.”  

Zarebski is thankful for her solid support system. “It was difficult navigating college without parents who hadn’t experienced it themselves,” she said. “ There were some things that I needed to figure out on my own, but I’m so grateful that I was able to lean on my sister for advice and that Davenport has a special program to help first-generation students succeed. My parents continually encouraged me and were there for me. Nursing school was hard, and their support helped keep me going.” 

Zarebski isn’t exactly sure what her future holds beyond earning her MBA in April, 2027, but she does have a long-term goal of securing a leadership position in healthcare or owning her own small business. 

For now, she knows she is exactly where she needs to be, working toward her MBA at Davenport and making a measurable difference by serving families in her community.

“While I was in nursing school, I was so focused on graduating that I didn’t stop to appreciate what an accomplishment it was, especially since my parents hadn’t graduated from college,” she said. “Looking back, graduating with my BSN and now pursuing my MBA have shown me that I can keep setting and achieving goals that once seemed out of reach.”

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