Stamina, determination, a desire to give back to those facing illness — although Taylor Neuhalfen and Chidozirim Stanudeze — a recent alumna and current nursing student, respectively, from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora — have different backgrounds, these are three words you could apply to their stories.
Neuhalfen and Stanudeze have participated in CU Nursing’s Traditional Path for nursing students, which accepts those who have finished their first two years of college education elsewhere — such as at another four-year university or community college. The path usually takes two years to finish, after pre-requisites are completed.
This degree path offers the best of both college experiences. A student can start their journey at a community college or traditional university where they’ll dive into core classes while enjoying campus life. Then transition to this specialized healthcare campus to focus on becoming a nurse. It’s the perfect blend of both worlds.
Although it lacks the conventional fixtures of “campus life” like dorms, students at the Anschutz Medical Campus gain hands-on healthcare experience through expert classroom instruction, clinical rotations at top-ranked hospitals, and training with high-tech patient simulators.
Consistently ranked as the top nursing program in Colorado and top 20 in the nation, CU Nursing boasts a 94.88% pass rate on the nursing licensing exam (NCLEX).
Here’s a closer look at Neuhalfen and Stanudeze’s journeys:
A calling to care for children
Neuhalfen, a long-distance runner, began nursing school in Minnesota, and when she returned to her native Colorado to continue her B.S. in Nursing at CU Nursing, she began simultaneously coaching her high school’s cross-country team.
That experience compelled her to set a goal to care for young patients.
“I feel called to work with that population because I love working with their families and being a small light in such a dark situation,” she said. During school, Neuhalfen worked as a clinical assistant in the pediatric intensive care unit and now works for Children’s Hospital Colorado in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.
“It’s difficult because they’re sick kids,” she added. “While I can’t change the outcome of what’s happening to the child, I can provide them with the best care possible in the moment. Seeing the smiles of patients and family members when kids progress out of the intensive care unit to the floor makes the difficult times worth it.”
A propensity for “sustained adrenaline”
Like Neuhalfen, Stanudeze has stamina. To be in the military, as Stanudeze is, that’s essential.
“I haven’t slept since I turned 17,” said Stanudeze, who by the age of 20 has graduated from high school (where she took concurrent college courses), enlisted in the U.S. Army, completed basic training, and is now working toward becoming an officer via ROTC. She’s now in her final semester of the B.S. in nursing program.
She’s the oldest of four, and when she was 7 years old, her father emigrated from Nigeria through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. Growing up, Stanudeze cared for her siblings as well as for her grandfather when he battled cancer. She always knew she wanted to work in medicine or science.
She learned about CU’s program while taking concurrent classes at the Community College of Aurora.
“I learned to advocate for myself,” she said. “If I wanted it, I was going to make it happen.”
