When Jenifer Mtisi was a little girl growing up in Zimbabwe, she dreamed of being a nurse. However, she opted to pursue teaching—following in the footsteps of her brother, sister and sister-in-law—when the nursing colleges in her area had long waitlists.
Just as Jenifer’s career as an elementary school teacher was beginning, her husband had the opportunity to obtain a PhD. in history at the University of Iowa. “He moved overseas, and I joined him in 2002,” she says. There was plenty to get used to in her new midwestern U.S. environment, and her Zimbabwe education did not qualify her to teach in the U.S. “We had a child by then, so I stayed home with him.”
A Pathway at Her Local Community College
Years later, Jenifer decided it would be a good time to go back to school. By then, she was a mother of four children, but the local community college in her small town in Iowa offered many strong and flexible programs, including a healthcare academy. “I learned that I could become a Certified Nurse Aide, and I really liked the sound of that,” she says. She completed the CNA program in 2013 and started her healthcare career at, a senior services facility that provides skilled rehabilitation care, long-term nursing care, respite care, dementia care, assisted living, and independent living options. “Where I’m from, it is children’s responsibility to care for their elders, so the concept of long-term care was new to me. I feel it is important and it’s a job that I feel good about.”
Driven to Go Back to School
After two years as a part-time CNA, Jenifer returned to Northeast Community College for an Associate of Science in nursing. “I love education and felt that if I became a nurse, I would have the knowledge to provide better care for our residents,” she says. That effort opened the door for her to become a full-time Registered Nurse at the facility where she was working.
In 2021, Jenifer and a friend talked about their mutual interest in going back to school for a bachelor’s degree. Her friend learned about American Sentinel College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Post University and told Jenifer about it. “She told me how it was affordable and how we’d be able to work it around our schedules,” Jenifer says. “She said, ‘We’re doing this together!’” Jenifer enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN).
Building Clinical Skills in the Hospital
Jenifer loves her job at the senior services facility, but took a medical-surgical nursing position at WinnMed, a critical access hospital, when she began the BSN to get additional exposure and apply what she was learning in the classroom at work. She’s been back at a senior services facility full time since 2022.
In July 2023, Jenifer completed the BSN program. She was enrolled in the competency-based SIMPath® program until her final semester, when she switched to traditional classes. That flexibility allowed her to work full-time, manage her busy household and even go home to Zimbabwe when her mother had a stroke. At times, she doubted her ability to continue, but she was driven by a goal to better herself.
Applying Her Knowledge
In the year since she graduated, Jenifer has become a supervisor at the senior care center and still works at the hospital. She’s enjoying applying what she learned in the BSN program. One day, Jenifer hopes to pursue a Master of Science in Nursing as well. “I gained a lot that I’m using right now, and I haven’t ruled out a master’s degree,” she says. “For me, the BSN was a personal goal. Also, I believe that nursing is a field where you must keep learning. And after doing the BSN, I know I’m capable of doing it.”