| |
“When I was growing
up, I had such a ‘set plan’ for my life. After the first few
years of college, I realized that forces out of my control, be
they chance or fate, seemed to thwart even my best-laid plans.
As an adult, I quickly realized, much to my distress, that I had
to become more flexible in my thinking.”
So reflects Rachael Edmondson, who began her college career on a
“Presidential” academic scholarship at Oglethorpe University in
Atlanta where she was recruited to play basketball for the
varsity squad. Now, the Rocky Face native is halfway through
Dalton State’s registered nursing program.
“While I was at Oglethorpe, I double-majored in communication
and biology because even though I have always wanted to be a
journalist my interest in the biological sciences peaked while
taking several math and science courses in college. My unique
double-major landed me a public relations internship with Emory
University’s Fernbank Museum of Natural History, which gave me
invaluable insight into the true nature of the modern fields of
communication, public relations, and marketing.
“But after completing my internship and taking several
additional math and science courses at Oglethorpe, I discovered
that I wanted to change my major. I found the biological
sciences not only to be captivating, but also to hold so much
potential for future contributions to our society and to the
world. It was then that I decided to enter the field of nursing,
like my mom.”
|
 |
Edmondson’s mom,
Kandance Edmondson, a graduate of the Dalton State College
nursing program, has worked for more than 20 years as a labor
and delivery nurse and currently works at Park Ridge East
Hospital.
“My mom is incredibly talented at her calling, and she gives
much credit to Dalton State’s program for the manner in which it
prepared her to excel in her career,” she says. Her mom’s
confidence in the education she’d received here made it obvious
to Edmondson that she should return home and enroll in the
nursing program at Dalton State. And not surprisingly, Edmondson
has followed closely in her mother’s footsteps, achieving a 4.0
grade point average throughout her entire college career, even
in the nursing program.
Recognizing her literary talents, Associate Professor of English
Dr. Marsha Mathews asked Edmondson to become the Editor-in-Chief
of Tributaries, the college’s student-produced and edited
literary magazine.
As the former editor of the news section of Oglethorpe
University’s student newspaper, as a past President of Northwest
High School’s Literary Club, and as a creative writer with
several poems and short stories published in a literary
compilation for young Georgia writers entitled O’Georgia, Too!,
Edmondson already had valuable experience writing and editing in
both journalistic and literary styles.
Still, she found Tributaries to be “a formidable task.”
“I mean that in a good way. Balancing my editing
responsibilities with my nursing classes and my job as a
waitress has been a challenge. The college’s literary magazine
steadily improved over the past five or six years, and I truly
want to produce the best magazine possible under my leadership.”
Her duties as Editor-in-Chief involve critiquing the literary
and art submissions, formatting the design layout of the
magazine, and overseeing a staff of five student copy editors.
“Being involved with Tributaries has revived my personal
interest in creative writing and has assisted me in adapting my
editing skills from the objective, somewhat dry standards of
news print journalism to the fluid, interpretive guidelines of
creative writing and artwork.”
Edmondson feels that not only have her science and math classes
proven to be as good if not better than those she took while
enrolled in a private institution, citing Dr. James Adams’
Anatomy and Physiology classes as some of the true highlights in
her Dalton State career, but that the English instruction she’s
received here has been even more demanding than her former
college’s classes, pushing her to become a better writer.
“For a very long time, I did not have to work at my writing,”
she says. “But both Dr. Keith Perry and Dr. Joe Keener’s high
expectations forced me to turn a critical eye to my own work.”
Her career plans including graduating from Dalton State in 2009
with an associate’s of science in nursing, working as a
registered nurse in Atlanta while pursuing a bachelor’s of
science in nursing and a bachelor’s of art in journalism from
Georgia State, and either pursuing a master’s of science in
nursing or a medical doctorate at Emory University shortly
thereafter.
Despite the seemingly contradictory nature of her two loves, she
still plans to reconcile them throughout her professional
career.
“I’ve thought about how biological and medical issues are often
both highly-political and controversial topics in the press, and
I’ve wondered what it would be like to be a medical
correspondent, for CNN, for example. Although I am unsure
exactly where my educational and professional pursuits will take
me, I would love to find a way to integrate my two interests
into one seamless career.”
Tributaries submission requirements >>
|
|
