Story of SCOPE

Barb Eldridge had always aspired to work with children in health care. After spending many of her high school years working alongside her school’s kindergarten teacher, she had grown in her love for children. After high school, she enrolled in BJU’s Elementary Education program, but halfway through she experienced several major setbacks, including being diagnosed with cancer, which forced her to sit out for a year. Refusing to let cancer hold her back, Barb returned a year later determined to finish her degree.

To pay for school, she worked night security which enabled her to get an EMT certification. It was then that Barb says she “fell in love with medicine, and that was the end of it.” However, changing to a nursing major one semester prior to graduation felt impossible. Instead of extending her time at BJU, Barb opted to drop out that semester and work as a local EMT. But after being injured on the job, she decided she needed to move back home to Pennsylvania for rehab and to decide on a new path forward.

Penn State University was the local choice, but after multiple setbacks during her program, Barb had all but given up on the future. One day she came across an ad for SCOPE in the BJU alumni magazine and decided to make the call. She quickly made friends with Kat Wampole who helped Barb start the RN to BSN program.

Barb recounts “Part of the reason I love SCOPE so much is the one-on-one time I had with my advisor Kat. And it was the same way with all my instructors.”

Kat helped Barb navigate through the new distance learning format as Barb worked on her degree during nights and weekends. Her program wasn’t simply academic. She said, “I was able to do projects in pediatrics that I could turn around and put into practice in my unit that week.”

However, once again Barb faced obstacles after her mom passed away months before her SCOPE graduation. This time, after more than 18 months of hard work, Barb proudly finished her last class at 46 years old and graduated with her BSN degree from SCOPE. Looking back over her journey, Barb recounts:

“A lot of places hire on the basis of having a BSN and I now have that as part of my resume. My BSN gives me flexibility if I need to change positions. It gave me leadership skills, making me more confident in being the nurse that I am today. It was nice to have the Biblical basis for it. Many times over I thought this was impossible, but it worked out in the end.”