Drury’s CAMP program gave Stephanie Soto just the push she needed to follow her dreams of becoming a registered nurse.
Soto was born in 1997, just after her parents immigrated to Arkansas from Mexico to offer better opportunities to their children. Her parents worked as agricultural laborers. Soto says her parents always worked hard to help their family have a better life. In the process, she says they taught their four children many valuable lessons about perseverance.
After getting her practical nursing license in 2015-16 from Missouri Southern State University – the first in her family to gain more than a high school education – she debated the possibility of going back to school to become a registered nurse. RNs have a broader scope of practice and more earning potential than LPNs. But to reach that goal, she needed a college degree.
“In my head I kept thinking, why am I stopping here, my parents have done so much for me to just stop here,” Soto says. “I can keep going, I can do something bigger.”
But she often felt unsure about the move as well. It was a big step – and potentially a big investment in the cost of education. After exhausting all excuses and seeking advice from within her small community of Purdy, Missouri, Soto applied and soon qualified for the federal stipend and guidance Drury’s CAMP program offers.
Still debating going back – right up until the night before her first day – Soto decided the opportunity was greater than her fears.
In May 2019, Soto became acquainted with Yesy Perez, Monett’s CAMP program director, and Rhonda Schilly, Monett’s site director. She says they made her feel right at home.
“Yesy and Rhonda, they were so welcoming,” Soto says. “You know, they just make you feel like family on the first day.”
As she began classes, she says the professors were caring and would always go “above and beyond” for any student. She truly believed they wouldn’t let her fail and she gained not only book smarts, but also gained courage and leadership skills along the way.
She remembered most, chemistry instructor Karla Shiveley, who she says was extremely understanding with each student, their needs and abilities. Soto spoke of her not only being an ally when it comes to helping with course work and comprehension, but also how she considered their lives outside of her course.
With constant motivation and reassurance from required study log hours, group tutoring and dedicated professors, her dream of being an RN was now becoming a reality.
Soto completed two semesters of prerequisites at Drury to qualify for the nursing program at Ozarks Technical Community College. She earned an associate of nursing in 2021.
Without the assistance of Drury providing an affordable and realistic path to get her prerequisites, Soto says further education may not have been an option for her.
“I have this dream; I want to go pursue it,” Soto says. “But then it kind of stops when you see that dollar amount, and then it comes back when Drury says, ‘Wait, but we can help you!’”
Soto values most the confidence and leadership capabilities she says Drury instilled in her through physical and mental group activities. The CAMP program includes individual and team-based leadership training for enrollees, to help them build confidence and skills that will translate beyond the classroom.
With hands on assistance in every area, she also learned valuable study habits she could take with her into the ASN program at OTC.
Although she dreaded them at first, Soto came to miss the required study hours she had while in the CAMP program. She soon realized the lasting knowledge Drury had left with her, including learning to how to learn.
“We don’t have kids yet, so we have extra rooms, I set it up to where that was my study hall. I even put on my wall ‘study hall’”, says Soto, with a laugh.
Now, as a recent graduate working in the field, Soto plans to use her nursing and leadership skills while sharing her experience and making a difference. Working as a medical/surgical nurse at Mercy Hospital in Aurora, Soto’s newest goal is to work as a labor and delivery nurse.
Without Drury, Soto says she probably would not have gone back to school and would have remained an LPN. She is grateful for the advancements and knowledge she has been able to experience because of Drury’s CAMP program.
“I would always say I would go back to nursing school, but I never actually believed it,” she says. “They helped me believe in my dream and complete it.”
About the CAMP program
Drury’s CAMP – College Assistance Migrant Program – is fully funded through the U.S. Department of Education and designed to provide support, training, mentoring and academic counseling to the family members of migrant or seasonal agricultural workers. Drury was recently awarded a second five-year grant worth $2.375 million, following a successful implementation of the initial grant worth $1.9 million from 2016-21.
For more information visit drury.edu/camp or call at (417) 873-7879.
Story by Travia Harris,Marketing & Communications intern.