As Saint Mary’s College ushers the next class of graduates out into the workforce, seniors shared their gratitude for their experiences at Saint Mary’s as well as their excitement for their post-graduation plans.
Kaitlyn King
Kaitlyn King, a nursing major from Naperville, Illinois, looks forward to working at the Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago. King will work with the nationally ranked hospital’s neurology and endocrinology units as a registered nurse. Originally, King had not planned to enter pediatric care, but she thanked the nursing department for helping her step out of her comfort zone and find the right path for her.
“[When] I had my pediatrics rotation, it just came so naturally to me. And I’m so thankful Saint Mary’s pushes you outside of your comfort zone so you can experience everything. I feel like a lot of the new grads know exactly where they eventually want to end up,” King said.
She found her passion for nursing in high school while volunteering at a nearby hospital. While observing various roles in the hospital setting, she concluded that nursing was the right path for her.
“What I love about nursing is that it’s more so focused on caring for the patient than curing them, and I love to care for people,” King said. “You get this very unique privilege as a nurse to be with patients throughout these moments of transition from birth to death and everything in between. So it’s a very unique position to be in as a healthcare provider, and I absolutely love it.”
While attending Saint Mary’s, King said she appreciated the community she found while playing lacrosse for three years as well as the tight-knit group within the nursing program.
“I can’t speak highly enough about our program here. We have a very high first-pass rate for the NCLEX-RN exam, and that's just because they drill into us how important studying is, but also, you can spot a Saint Mary's nurse a mile away,” King said. “Through all my interviews my senior year for jobs, I’ve always been complimented on my confidence and my ability to ask the tough questions and speak up for myself and not be afraid to put myself out there.”
Chloe Westrate
Chloe Westrate, a philosophy major with concentrations in law, ethics and politics and minors in English literature and French, plans to pursue a doctorate of law degree at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Mass. There, she plans to focus on appellate law and hopes to one day become a judge.
Westrate knew entering college that she would continue into law school, but didn’t believe she’d attend one of the highest ranked and oldest law schools in the nation. When she received a voicemail announcing her acceptance, Westrate felt it wasn’t “something you could put a price tag on.”
“I applied to a pretty decent mix of schools, and Harvard was kind of a shot in the dark, we’ll see how it goes, type of thing,” Westrate said. “I had offers from a couple of other schools with pretty significant scholarships, so in my mind, I thought I’d just take the full ride because student debt is scary. But the more that I thought about it, the more it felt like just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I really couldn’t pass up.”
During her time at Saint Mary’s, Westrate was a writing and French tutor at the Writing & Tutoring Center as well as an intern with the Dialogue and Democracy Summer Institute. Westrate felt these experiences not only helped prepare her for law school but were positive and uplifting communities she enjoyed dedicating her time to. Though she completed her senior year in December, Westrate feels excited to be back on campus to walk and reflect on her time as an undergraduate.
“I think I’m really going to miss how small Saint Mary’s is. I think I was really fortunate that, in my four years, I built really strong relationships with all of my professors,” Westrate said. “I think I’m going to really miss walking around seeing your friends in the dining hall or running into professors in Spes [Unica Hall]. I think that the way that there’s so many opportunities for community is something I’m really going to miss.”
Tess Hayes
Tess Hayes, a religious studies and theology major, said she feels at peace with her decision to stay on campus by working as a marketing and communications specialist. As a student, Hayes worked in the marketing and communications office, and she believes it will be a smooth transition after graduation.
“I’m looking forward to beginning my career here with people that care about this institution ... I need to be deeply rooted in a mission of a place, and it’s something I need to believe in,” Hayes said. “And you know what? I believe in Saint Mary’s. I believe in the people that run this place. I am now one of those people that helps run this place.”
Hayes said this opportunity also allows her to continue perfecting her podcast, “The Stories of Our Sisters: A Living History,” on which she discusses the lives and stories of the sisters of the Congregation of Sisters of the Holy Cross.
“My life has been absolutely transformed by [this] experience, because it allowed me to apply what I was learning in the classroom in my engagement with the sisters,” Hayes said. “Many of them are now some of my closest and dearest friends and have showed me what it’s like to ‘be church’ and not just know that church is a place. It’s something you have to go and do and be the good news and the good light.”
As Hayes begins the third season of her podcast, she says she wants to focus on welcoming and inviting different perspectives onto the podcast.
