Making her Mark

Jessica Sasser is well on her way to becoming a registered nurse. The Columbia Falls senior recently received her health occupation certificate from Flathead Valley Community College.

She’s the first student from Columbia Falls to receive the certificate, which is a great kick start to her future career in the profession, Sasser said last week.

It was a lot of work to get there. Sasser, through help from a host of high school staff, was able to patch together enough financial aide and scholarships to get the certificate, which takes 18 credit hours of college courses, without a nickel of debt.

Sasser also completed all her high school classes, maintaining a 3.5 grade point average and held down a full-time job — she’s a certified nursing assistant at the Montana Veterans Home, often working 12-hour shifts on the weekends and three eight-hour shifts during the week.

When does she sleep?

“After 11 p.m. at night,” she said with a smile during a recent interview. “I’m really tired all the time.”

Sasser is saving money to move to Florida to be back close to her parents. Her mother, Cindy Lee, is a Florida native and moved back south with her husband Michael last fall. Sasser and her longtime boyfriend Thomas Johnson, helped with the move.

Sasser, 19, has been living with Johnson and his family the past few months.

In the fall, she plans on attending Pensacola State University to continue pursing her nursing career.

She really enjoys working with the aging veterans at the Montana Veterans Home.

“They’re so fun. They have great personalities. I like seeing their pictures on the wall and they joke all the time,” she said. “It makes work fun.”

After she graduates from college, her goal is to work in the field of geriatrics, helping older folks.

Sasser said the support she got from the high school staff helped a lot.

“I’ve had a lot of supporting teachers, Cathy Dragonfly, Laurie Thramer, Lynne Thuesen, Michelle Ream,” she said.

Sasser encourages other seniors to pursue the same coursework if they’re interested in the health field.

“It’s a really good feeling when in the end when you get it done,” she said.

Graduation ceremonies start at 11 a.m. at the high school Saturday.