Mary Yoder's ambition to be an operating room nurse came to a screeching halt shortly after high school graduation. "A guidance counselor told me I wouldn't be a very good nursing candidate," says Yoder, who reluctantly skipped nursing school and instead joined the work force. Eventually she became secretary to the dean of the UI College of Pharmacy-a nice job but outside the nursing field she had always wanted.

"Here I was, 40 years old, with two younger sisters who were both nurses (including one at UI Hospitals and Clinics). My lifelong desire to be an operating nurse just wasn't happening. So I decided to go back to school to get my nursing degree."

This daunting challenge required Yoder to mesh class time into ongoing commitments at work and at home. Fortunately, her employer was accommodating and her husband supportive and understanding.

Meanwhile, her two daughters, then ages 15 and 12, knocked on the door while she studied, wondering what their too-busy mom was up to. "I just invited them to bring their homework and join me," she laughs.

Yoder finished her degree in 1991. She loves her job as a nurse in the operating room, specializing in cardiothoracic procedures.

"I wish I could see that guidance counselor again just to let him know how I'm doing," she says with a smile. "I think I'm right where I belong."