CSCC Nursing Alum Serving Her Community Through Her Career

Napierra Alexander
Monday, December 20, 2021 12:00 AM
Community, Alumni, Students, All

CLEVELAND, Tenn. - Many students that choose to enroll at Cleveland State Community College to study nursing go on to achieve more education in healthcare while choosing to serve their community. Cleveland State Alumnae Elizabeth Jackson, works right in the community she grew up in. Now, she makes it her duty to aid the ill and to comfort the unfortunate. 

Elizabeth Jackson is a Cleveland native who uses her abilities to help her community as a Nurse Practitioner. She started her educational journey at Cleveland State Community College majoring in Nursing and graduating in 2010. She continued her education at UTC graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Nursing, then headed to Southern Adventist University to obtain her MSN as a Family Nurse Practitioner. But before leaping into her educational career, Jackson believes CSCC helped her receive her degree quicker and created a solid foundation that carried her to where she is today. 

“I feel that CSCC prepared me to enter the workforce, and I had no trouble transitioning whatsoever,” stated Jackson. “There are some things that cannot be taught in school and you just have to figure those things out as you encounter them in your career, but when it comes to the matters that can be taught in the classroom, I felt more than prepared.”

Jackson was a nontraditional student, but that didn't stop her from achieving her goals. She described her time at the college like family. Faculty and staff were always there to support her and keep her accountable. The small class sizes at the college helped Jackson receive more attention in her classes and build stronger friendships with her peers. When it was time to transfer, Jackson felt that CSCC prepared her for the workforce. 

Right after graduation she was offered a job working in the pediatric ICU at TC Thompson Children’s Hospital with far more than a basic knowledge and the minimum requirements for a nurse. Today, she works at Tennova Healthcare in Cleveland as a nurse practitioner and has also treated COVID patients since the pandemic started. Jackson says she truly enjoys her job and loves the profession she has chosen. 

“I do enjoy being able to comfort patients and their families during some of their scariest moments,” explained Jackson. “I appreciate the opportunity to explain things to them in a way in which they can understand what’s going on with either themselves or a loved one.”

Since working in healthcare, Jackson has supervised and monitored staffed hospital shifts all while encountering rapid responses, attending to patients in emergencies, and caring for the ill.

“I definitely view my work as more than a job, it is a ministry I am there to do the Lord’s work,” stated Jackson.

For more information on Cleveland State Community College, visit the website at clevelandstatecc.edu or email clscc_info@clevelandstatecc.edu. If you are interested in applying, visit mycs.cc/applynow. Students are currently enrolled online and on-campus through the CSCC main campus in Cleveland, Tennessee, as well as CSCC’s Athens Center in Athens, Tennessee and Monroe County Center in Vonore, Tennessee.

CSCC earned the Tennessee Board of Regent’s 2019 College of The Year. CSCC directly serves Bradley, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe, and Polk Counties in Tennessee. The College System of Tennessee is the state’s largest public higher education system, with 13 community colleges, 27 colleges of applied technology and the online TN eCampus serving more than 140,000 students.