Ashley Joseph has balanced her roles as a mother and student to successfully get into Great Falls College’s registered nursing program. She shared her remarkable journey while she was still a pre-nursing student.
Tell us about yourself?
I’m from Great Falls, and I’m in the pre-nursing program. I’ve been going to school since 2020. I have two little kids, and I try to get good grades, so I do it slow and steady. I’m going to apply (for the nursing program) this May and hopefully start this fall. Finally getting to this point is crazy to think about. I know it’s a very competitive program, but, fingers crossed, I just kind of get in the first go around, and then I’m two years out, and then I can go work on getting my bachelor’s.
You will be on the fast track once you are in RN school. Are you ready for that?
I’m anticipating my (youngest) daughter starting kindergarten. And then my oldest is doing a lot better in school. So it’ll open up my schedule a little bit and allow me to be ready for the nursing program.
You mentioned that you had your oldest, Elaina, when you were in high school?
Yeah, I had her at 16. I got pregnant with her at 15. I really didn’t know what I was doing, but she is the highlight of my life and has shown me a lot. Taught me what I want to do with my life. Taught me that I wanted to be a nurse, go into the nursing program, taught me how to be a mom, kind of helped me find who I was. …She was born with a genetic condition called Hemimegalencephaly. Half of her brain was too big when she was born. So they, when she was 18 months old, did a hemispherectomy, which means they disconnected and removed part of half of her brain. So she only has half of her brain to function with, which is pretty phenomenal to think she’s walking, talking, eating, and doing all the things that she was told she was never going to do.
How is Elaina doing now?
She’s in third grade. She goes to West Elementary. She’s got some behavioral challenges. Like I said, she’s got half of her brain. So half of that impulse control, half of all of those processing centers. But she’s excelling more than she should. So I’m very proud of her. When I was 16, they told me at the rate she was having seizures, she was going to be brain dead by the time she was 2. So we moved from Helena, Montana, to Seattle, Washington, and we fought like hell to make sure that didn’t happen.
Must have been terrifying experience?
It was absolutely terrifying. I had people ask me all the time how I did it, and to me, I’m like, I really didn’t have any other choice. She was my baby, and we were going to do it together.
It’s a scary moment for any parent when they send their child off to school. Was that especially scary for you?
It was a little bit. Thankfully, Skyline here in Great Falls is a preschool, and I actually went to school with her for the first month, so she was only half day school days. So for the first month, I would go and sit in the classroom and help them and make sure everything was good. And then when she went to finally being without me, I honestly didn’t know what to do with myself for those 3 or 4 hours. And then, you know, then I had my other daughter, about a year later, so kind of filled my plate a little more having an infant.
And then she went to school?
So she’s went from kindergarten to third grade (at West Elementary), but the same teachers in the same classroom. And she seems to be doing really well. She’s using an ACC device which is a communication device. And, she tells them what she wants or needs if she is unhappy with the situation.
How about your younger daughter, Elanora, what is she like?
So she’s in preschool. She goes to Skyline right now in the pre-K program. She is sassy, and she’s a spitfire. She’s very stubborn. But she’s the best little sister that I could have asked for Elaina. She’s very helpful. She communicates better with her than I do. She tells me what Elaina wants more than I think Elaina can.
You said Elaina inspired you to become a nurse. So you must have been seeing some great care that your daughter got or had that inspiration.
In high school, I wanted to be a surgeon. Like I have always kind of been in love with medical field. Elementary school, I wanted to be a vet, and then I got attacked by my dog in fifth grade, and I’m like, ‘maybe I don’t want to be of that.’ But then I got into the idea of being a doctor, and I really wanted to go to med school and be a surgeon. And then she was born. And just the care that those nurses provided me, they taught me how to take care of my daughter. She still has a feeding tube. She had an NG tube, which is a drain that goes into the nose, into your stomach. And they taught me how to place that all on my own. I would change it all the time on my own. Now she has a G-tube or a Mickey button, and I change that every 3 to 4 months on my own, and I would not be able to do those things without the nurses. They taught me everything I know.
At what point did you decide you want to become a nurse?
There were some classes and stuff I was looking at in Washington, but unfortunately in Washington, being a resident of Montana still, college was very expensive out there. So I waited until I came home. Took me about a year and a half to figure out, you know, establish some stuff. And then I started a class called Connections 101 over at the Career and College Readiness Center. Dipped my toes in. And ever since then, I’ve just kind of been on the slow track of being able to apply for the program with two little kids.
And how has the school been for you?
It’s been challenging, here and there. I was a 4.0 student before I got pregnant with Elaina, so I’ve kind of had that mindset that I want A’s and B’s at least. And so that’s kind of been a challenge. But I just push through it, forgo sleep sometimes. But you know, sometimes I keep telling myself it’s a small timeframe. It’ll be worth it when I’m in a nurse and I’m in a PICU or in a NICU doing what I love.
Why has Great Falls College been right for you?
What I like about Great Falls College is how open and close-knit it is. Like, it feels like you can just walk into the student center and ask questions, and your answers are right there. Great Falls College has been right for me just because, born and raised right here in Great Falls. I could literally take one class at a time. It just works with my schedule. They’re super huge on making sure work, school and home life is all put together. They take that into consideration when you go to your advisor and talk about those things and be like, ‘Okay, I can’t do too much, but what can I do?’ And they tell you what you need to do and give you the best options possible to make sure that you’re successful.