“I pushed through that uncomfortable feeling… I didn’t know, but I was growing…” says Amy Nelson, the first 
guest speaker of RCTC’s Yellowjacket Diversity Series.
Yesterday, Tuesday, February 11, 2025, was Amy Nelson’s turn to share her story. Amy has a Bachelor of Arts in Nursing, as well as certifications in mental health and leadership roles. She is currently an APRN and CNP at Olmsted Medical Center here in Rochester. She joined OMC in 1999, and despite the great successes in her career and family life, she has also had to learn how to handle the difficult times, too. Amy is from Albert Lea, the youngest of five, and currently a mother of three children.
Throughout her lifetime, Amy has gone through several “transitions,” as she calls them. From leaving home to go to college, to becoming a nurse, to getting married and raising a family, to learning to navigate stressful medical diagnoses of herself and family members, Amy has learned a very important skill: resilience.
To Amy, resilience is not something that a person is born with, but something that anyone and everyone can develop. Developing this skill can be difficult, but the steps towards achieving this goal can start out small. As Amy shared with the audience, there have been several times in her life where she’s had to remind herself: “I am lucky, I am grateful, and every day is a gift.” Having an attitude of gratitude is the first step in becoming the most courageous, strongest, and joyous person that you can be.
Amy furthers her viewpoint by telling us, “I am privileged to have hardships because… they have made me a stronger, kinder, better person than before.” Today, Amy has encouraged students to never lose their hope and instead learn how to become resilient. Amy suggests practicing mindfulness each day to calm yourself down and find your focus again. She says that music, exercise, writing, faith, and many more activities can help you do this, too.
The best way to balance work and life, according to Amy, is to be okay with saying “no” sometimes. She notes that it is important to practice self-compassion, because it will allow you to grow as a person and better serve those around you. Acts of service are extremely important to Amy, as she never takes patient care lightly. She strives to serve and help all of the patients she works with, the students and colleagues that she teaches, and the family that she raised.
If there’s one thing that should be remembered from today’s session, it’s this: times of sorrow and hopelessness are not the end of your story. Amy encourages all students today to continue to be the leaders that they are, to nurture valuable relationships with those around them, and to continue to show up each day, so that they can write the end of their story.
If you want to hear another inspiring talk, please join us next week on February 18th, when we listen to Sidney Frye discuss topics of equality, hearing everyone’s voice, and thus learning to converse with others on such topics.
This series runs from February 11th to March 4th and is a part of the campus’s strategic academic plan for the next few years. One specific goal of the plan is to cultivate inclusivity and collaboration across the campus, which will aid in professional and academic growth. Thus, by attending at least three of the four speaker sessions, students (who have signed up) can earn a certificate of completion to add to their resumes. Besides this, the sessions are a wonderful opportunity for students to learn about different cultural, gendered, and professional experiences and ask questions directly of those speaking about these topics.
by Theresa Charron