The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Woman earns nursing degree 20 years after start
Sharese Windley first began her path to becom
ing a nurse in 1998. The former nurse’s aide was 22 and a mother of two, working and attending school part-time. She had no idea it would take
20 years to fulfill her dream.
In April, Windley, 42 of Fayetteville, graduated from Herzing University with a bachelor of science degree in nursing. This month she begins her residency at Emory University Midtown Hospital.
“That was the cherry on top of everything I had done at that point,” said Windley, who graduated at the top of her class. “You go through so much to have it end on such a high note.”
Windley was born in the Bronx in New York City and was raised in foster care. She was first inspired to become a nurse by her foster mother, who suffered with diabetes. “Growing up around some- one with a chronic illness, I was fascinated by anything related to health” Windley said. That would become an advantage when Wind- ley herself became ill.
In 2001, Windley was a married mother of three now attending school fulltime until she began to expe- rience strange symptoms — her weight had dropped to 97 pounds and she was unable to eat. On a particularly bad day, she went to the hospi- tal and was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, a chronic disease that causes ulcers in the digestive tract. Windley ended up in the hospital for three weeks. She delayed returning to school and took a job at a care facil- ity. But in just a few months, she fell ill again and was back in the hospital with the same routine all over again. “It was a scary time for my family. It was supposed to be a great time in my life but instead I was dealing with this,” Windley said. Fortunately she had friends and family to help with her recovery, but when her con- dition improved, she and her husband decided she would stay home to raise their family and attend school. When she had only three semesters left, she and her family moved to Acworth, where her husband had a better career opportunity. So she threw herself into rais- ing her young children and put her education on hold. Years later, in 2011, she had another flare-up but
this time it was more serious than it had ever been.
Her vision got blurry and even water made her sick. After sleeping for a bit, she he woke up with a bad feeling and told a friend she needed to return to the hospital. Windley was on the verge of a diabetic coma. In and out of consciousness in intensive care, she began reflecting on her life. “You start thinking about how you haven’t done anything that you said you were going to do with your life,” she said. Two weeks later, when she was released from the hospital, she began researching nursing programs. Having spent so much time in hospitals, Windley knew nurses could change lives and she wanted to be among them. “I have been the patient before. It gives me a lot more compassion and understand- ing,” she said. She had friends who had become nurses and had 15-year careers. “I was so tired of not doing what I want to do,” she said. But things were different now. She had been out of school for years and many of her credits would not transfer. Windley would have to start from the beginning. She spent two weeks cram
ming for exams and was able to attend Herzing Univer
sity that fall with financial aid. Windley was an A student, but nursing classes were tough. Her confidence was shaken when she failed a pharmacology course.
During a summer off, she crammed for the class and switched to night courses so she could study while
her children were at school. From that moment, she never scored anything less than an A — including in pharmacology. She also served as class president. A month before graduation, Windley had landed a residency at Emory.
“Getting ill and being sick, that is the thing that kept me connected to nursing in some way. I would go in the hos
pital and see these amazing nurses,” said Windley, whose illness has been in remission for two years. “In nursing school you doubt yourself a lot in what you know and if you are going to be a good nurse. I tried to make sure I got information in my brain, but I wanted to make sure I was a good nurse, and that has to do with you being a loving person and a caring person.”