Jessica Rivait

Q: “Tell us about yourself.”
A: “I live in Vermont with my six-year-old son. We love Vermont and all its beauty. We love to be outside and take advantage of all the outdoor activities that Vermont offers. Our interests and hobbies include anything that gets us outside in nature. I currently work as a nurse educator for workforce and program development at Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin, VT. I have been a nurse for 20 years and started my healthcare career at 17 years old as an unlicensed nursing assistant, and I loved it. I then decided to progress to LNA, LPN, RN, and BSN, and now I am receiving my master's degree. I have worked in many different capacities throughout my career; however, education has become my passion.”

Q: “What was your motivation for pursuing your degree?”
A: “The motivation for pursuing my master’s degree has been my love for nursing. When I started in the healthcare field, I was unsure of what I wanted to achieve in life. I met an amazing educator who pushed me to do bigger things with my career, and I am forever grateful to her for giving me that drive. As a nurse, I have always strived to be that person to someone else and help foster personal and professional growth in others. Now that I am in nursing education, I feel as though I have the opportunity to help people achieve their own goals in healthcare.”

Q: “What are your future professional plans?”
A: “My future professional goals are to continue to help promote workforce development and training initiatives to help mitigate healthcare workforce shortages while simultaneously creating a positive and inclusive healthcare environment for everyone. I plan to use my nursing degree in my current position to help strengthen my foundational knowledge for providing education to others.”

Q: “Why did you choose Norwich?” 
A: “I chose Norwich because of its military heritage and philosophy. I heard about Norwich through a peer who worked as part of the nursing program faculty and is one of the best nurses I know. Norwich is unique in that it supports students across the country and provides a strong foundation for education both in person and online.”

Q: “What were some of your expectations for an online degree program?”
A: “Online programming was the only option for me as a non-traditional student who works full-time with a family to care for. I had previous knowledge regarding online learning as that was the platform where I received my BSN degree.”

Q: “What has been your biggest personal or professional success since starting your degree?” 
A: “My biggest personal success was completing a graduate degree while working full-time and having a family to care for. Norwich helped me achieve this through their understanding of work-school-life balance. 

Q: “Please tell us about a time in which you could put your knowledge gained in the classroom to work immediately at your job.”
A: “While taking courses at Norwich, I was simultaneously creating a program for my job, and the concentration courses were directly related to what I was currently working on. Norwich has provided me with a strong educational foundation to help make a difference in the healthcare arena. Therefore, the learning was directly applied to my current role, which was very helpful.”

Q: “Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your Norwich experience?”
A: “During my coursework with Norwich, I had two very hard personal experiences happen in my life, and the instructors were very understanding and helped to support me through these events. It was a nice feeling knowing that the educators were very experienced and knowledgeable while also able to understand the real-life human experience that continues to take place in students' lives.”

Q: “What advice would you give future students enrolling in one of Norwich's online programs?”
A: “My advice would be that it is not easy, but it is definitely worth it in the end.”