After father-daughter duo Jamie and Erica Cernobyl had established separate non-nursing careers, both realized their true career dreams and the nontraditional pair graduated from Northampton Community College (NCC) together with associate’s degrees in registered nursing on May 26. The pair had not intended to graduate together, but by chance they were both accepted into NCC’s nursing program in the same year.

Jamie Cernobyl had been happily working as a welder for over 33 years but knew he had wanted to go back to school for nursing for quite some time. He tried at a younger age, but with three daughters all under 10 it wasn’t the right time for a father with a good job and a growing family. But at 54 years old, Jamie knew it was still his dream to be a nurse so three years ago he started taking general education classes so he could go back to school.

Erica Cernobyl originally went to Moravian College for nursing, but later changed her major to sociology. She started college young, at only 17, and wasn’t sure what she wanted to do at the time but now at 25 years old and three-years post-grad she knows her true passion is in nursing. Erica partly attributes her grandmother as one of the reasons she became a nurse. Her grandmother always spoke highly of nurses, saying they were her angels.

After applying to NCC’s nursing program because of its reputation, the father-daughter duo attended classes at different times with Jamie taking weekend and night classes and Erica going to class during the day. Jamie later switched to daytime classes in his second semester and began taking classes with his daughter. It turned out that the two of them made a strong pair, complementing each other’s strengths and weaknesses which greatly influenced the nurses they are today. Erica found her strengths in the classroom while Jamie found his strengths were more clinical, and together they helped each other with the other’s weaknesses.

See also
New DNP in Health Systems Innovation and Leadership Offered at Elms College

Now post-graduation, Erica will be going to work in the medical surge oncology department at St. Luke’s Hospital in Bethlehem Township and Jamie will be working in the emergency room at St. Luke’s Hospital in Allentown. Erica’s new nursing career is occurring in conjunction with her pending marriage in October. Both Erica and Jamie said they have Joanie Cernobyl to thank, their respective mother and wife who provided a support system while they were in nursing school together. It was a tough challenge for both of them, but there are excited to begin their new careers and know that it’s never too late to go back to school at any age.

Share This