Viterbo University graduate nursing director Mary Ellen Stolder received an encouraging sign when she arrived at work one Monday morning early last spring.

“The phone has been ringing off the hook,” she was told by Administrative Assistant Bobbi Hundt ’09.

For musical theatre star-in-the-making Samantha Pauly ’12, there were some major disappointments in 2018, enough to make someone without her persistence quit. True to her form, though, Pauly stuck with it and had a banner career year in 2019, with 2020 promising to be even better.

Adeline (Berg) Blundy’s recollections of her time at St. Francis School of Nursing are a little bit fuzzy, but then that’s not surprising. As a member of the Class of 1941, it’s been almost 80 years since she graduated.

“That’s a long time ago,” said Blundy, who turned 102 on Aug. 5, 2019.

There was never any doubt about the chosen career of Viterbo University student Nicole Sanders. “My mom is a nurse, and I used to play with my toy medical kit ‘treating’ people when I was a kid,” said Sanders, a senior from Belleville. “I always knew I wanted to be a nurse.”

When Nicole Broz of Waterford graduated from Viterbo University with a degree in biology, she was ready to attend dental school at Marquette University with the ultimate goal of owning her own practice. A college education and fulfilling her dream of becoming a dentist was made possible by financial aid.

Viterbo marketing student Curtis Petersen wanted to be able to help his fellow veterans, and he decided he needed a college degree to do it.

“I would like to own a marketing firm one day or at least have a career that allows me to contribute to local nonprofit veterans’ organizations,” said Petersen, 38, of his decision to enroll at Viterbo.