SC Nursing Legacy Family

“Wow, I hadn’t even thought of how amazing this really is!” Amy said as she reflected on the fact that five members of her family have graduated from or are set to graduate from the Sheridan College Nursing program.

Sisters Amy Martini, Michelle Switzenberg, and Stacey Frank grew up in and around the nursing home in Newcastle where their mother Georgia worked as a nurse. Like many working parents, Georgia often had to have her kids accompany her to work before or after school or on weekends, so the girls grew up watching their mom care for the patients.

“I don’t know – maybe we all chose nursing because it was so familiar to us,” said Amy, who came to Sheridan College after her high school guidance counselor suggested she apply to the program. She graduated with her LPN degree in 1989 and has worked in long-term care facilities her entire career.

Stacey achieved her dream of being a nurse when she graduated from SC in 2005, after which she worked in hospitals in South Dakota and later at the Sheridan VA. Sadly, Stacey fell ill and passed away in 2021.

Stacey’s daughter, Jordan Tidyman, followed in her footsteps eighteen years later, graduating with her RN degree in 2023. Jordan said she didn’t really consider anything else. “I had my prerequisites done in high school, and SC was right here with a great Nursing program.” She is currently working at a hospital in Spearfish.

Michelle took a roundabout way to her nursing career. She worked in other areas of health care into her 40s, when she decided to take a chance and apply to the Nursing program at SC. “It was tough because I was a non-traditional student with car and house payments, but my advisor convinced me it would be worth it. She was right!” Michelle graduated in 2023 and now works in the Med/Surge unit at Sheridan Memorial Hospital.

Michelle’s daughter Anna Moody, like her mom, didn’t immediately choose to go into nursing. However, after a few years at the University of Wyoming, she decided she wanted to come home and applied to the SC Nursing program. She is on track to graduate in the spring of 2025 and is scheduled to start working at Sugarland Ridge Assisted Living facility with her aunt Amy.

Amy, Michelle, Anna and Jordan all agreed that the SC Nursing program was tough but really prepared them well. “Sheridan College’s program has one of the best rates of success in passing the Nursing exam in this area. That was one of the reasons we all came here. The instructors were strict and held us accountable, but there were also supportive advisors to help get us through the program.”

Sheridan College is very fortunate to have been part of this extraordinary family’s educational journey and is very honored to have them as a legacy family!