By: Treshawn Ross

Introduction- Nurse Feven is our new school nurse for this year after our previous nurse retired. I had an opportunity to interview her, so our students could get a proper introduction to her. She’s been doing a wonderful job this year. Below are a series of job related questions and more personal questions.

Job related questions-

Treshawn: How have you enjoyed working at Highland so far?

Nurse Feven: ”I’ve loved it so much, I can see myself retiring from here and I’m not even close to retiring. This is really cool because it’s my first time working with high school students directly.”

Treshawn: Was there anything specific to Highland and its community that made you more interested in working here?

Nurse Feven: “The initial thought was that I lived close by, and I have personal connections with the school through family members. Part of it is also that we have a big East African population here and I thought I’d be a good fit for that reason.”

Treshawn: What type of job did you see yourself doing when you were younger?

Nurse Feven: “I’ve always seen myself in healthcare, my father had cancer and he had a personal nurse around our home and I saw the effects she had on our family and I was inspired by that.”

Treshawn: Have any staff members or students helped you adjust to your new work environment?

Nurse Feven: “Yeah definitely, a few staff members have helped me out with stuff like certain dates. Ms. Bonk helped me out a lot, and Sarita helped me out too.”

Treshawn: What do you enjoy the most about being a nurse?

Nurse Feven: “I enjoy helping people and making them feel better, and teaching them new things about their health. Also, teaching them about careers in healthcare. Also the wide variety of job types is one thing I enjoy too!”

Treshawn: Do you have any advice for the students at Highland? Medical advice or otherwise.

Nurse Feven: “Yeah, these are very important years as high school students. The choices you make now matter a lot more. Take advantage of every opportunity you can and if you like them you can stay with it or if you don’t it doesn’t hurt to try. Also have fun!”

Treshawn: What would you say is usually the highlight of your day while working here?

Nurse Feven: “Anytime I get to see students honestly, you guys brighten up my day.”

Personal questions-

Treshawn: How was your winter break? Did you do anything fun?

Nurse Feven: “Yeah It was great, I went to Boston with my family for Christmas and it was very nice.”

Treshawn: How long have you been a nurse and what was the process of getting into this work field?

Nurse Feven: “I graduated in 2010 from nursing school and there was a shortage of jobs. I wanted to get into a hospital straight away but that didn’t work out. I did home care first and then worked my way up to being in a hospital. In home care you really get to know the clients and that’s really cool.”

Treshawn: What type of music do you listen to and do you have a favorite artist?

Nurse Feven: “I really like Afro beats but I’ll really listen to anything. I love early 2000’s/1990’s music too like rap and RnB, even pop! I also like praise/worship music too.”

Treshawn: What are your hobbies and interests outside of work?

Nurse Feven: “I like dancing, not a particular kind, just anything. I also enjoy yoga and taking walks. Discovering new hiking places too. I also like to cook.”

Treshawn: What would you say is the most important thing needed to be a good nurse?

Nurse Feven: “Compassion for others and empathy. Also flexibility, you need to learn how to switch gears and use those critical thinking skills a lot.”

Treshawn: Is there anything else you would like the students of Highland to know about you?

Nurse Feven: “I’m also a part of the mental health team as well, I don’t only deal with physical ailments. If the social workers or other support staff is tied up I’m always available to help.”