Despite challenges in COVID-era education, local scholarship winner Shelby Stary received her associate degree nurse (ADN) pin at the Victoria College nursing graduation ceremony on December 19 at the Leo J. Welder Center.
Out of the 33 graduates for the fall 2024 semester, three are from DeWitt County: Stephanie Villa from Cuero, Haley Krebs from Meyersville, and Shelby Stary from Yoakum.
“As long as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a nurse, especially in emergency care, because my dad is a paramedic,” Stary said. Seeing that side of it piqued her interest even more.
After graduating from Yoakum High School in 2019, she immediately enrolled at Victoria College. Then, COVID hit, and her education faced a significant change. Adapting to online classes and taking exams at home was “super weird,” Stary recalled.
This period occurred before online and Zoom classes were fully developed.
“I got one semester of just plain college. In January of 2020, we went back for half a semester, and then after spring break, they put everything online. We’re kind of doing everything at home. Like in my bedroom. At my desk,” she explained. She completed one more full semester online in the fall of 2020 with no idea of what the future would hold.
During this time, she took on various jobs, including a position as a nurse technician at Cuero Regional Hospital. “I got a lot of experience from working here (Cuero Regional Hospital) in the emergency room, getting to shadow the nurses,” she said.
As the world began to recover from COVID, Stary started nursing school in 2022 at Victoria College. She enjoyed the clinical aspects of her studies, which involved hands-on experience in patient care under the supervision of licensed nurse educators. However, her true passion lay in emergency medicine.
“I specifically wanted to go into emergency medicine. We don't get to see much of that in nursing school, as we primarily focus on basic nursing skills,” she said.
Stary maintained contact with Chief Nursing Officer Judy Krupala at Cuero Regional Hospital while working as an ER nurse technician. She was accepted into the Leaders in Nursing Careers (LINC) scholarship program, which benefits Cuero Regional Hospital employees.
As of December 19, she transitioned into a graduate nurse position, with passing the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) as her next step to becoming a fully registered nurse (RN). Stary looks forward to working at Cuero Regional Hospital.
“There's a really good kind of family environment here at Cuero Hospital. So, I just try to treat everyone with the highest priority, even if it's coming in for a cough or for this huge gash you have on your leg,” she said.
There are treasured moments when she realizes she has made a positive impact on her patients. These instances may be small yet significant, such as when a patient acknowledges her name.
“Bye, Shelby,” the patient said to her the other night as she finished her 12-hour shift in the ER, bidding her goodnight.
