Carol Angela Mayers, RN

After being divorced, I had to do something to make a decent living to support my children. At the time, I was working at Southeastern College of Osteopathic Medicine in the Microbiology Lab and a medical student said to me, 'You can go all the way to a PhD in nursing and do research. You don't have to be stuck in a hospital.' A bachelor's degree in nursing opened up many various opportunities for me. I worked in public health in Florida for 3 years and then moved to Georgia where I managed various clinical trials for 17 years. I also worked in home health after which I did Medical Record auditing for 5 years.

I enjoyed my instructors at FIU and they were very dedicated. In my senior year, I did an internship at Jackson Memorial Hospital where I worked in medical surgical and intensive care units enough to know that’s not where I belonged. I especially enjoyed my community health rotation after Hurricane Andrew when I discovered that’s where I belonged…in the community. 

Through FIU School of Nursing, I had a job waiting for me at the Miami Dade County Public Health Department before I graduated. I interviewed with the nursing director of said Department and she saw my passion for public health, so I was able to do my community health rotation at the Miami Dade County Public Health Department because The Dean of Nursing gave me an excellent reference and I started working right after I graduated. YAY!!