Kayla Hobbs Partridge and her mother, Melinda Hobbs, graduate Practical Nursing School.
Mother, daughter team graduate nursing school
By Lisa Reed
Choctaw Nation
Melinda Hobbs started out as a health care provider approximately 26 years ago. At that time, she was a mother of triplets and felt it would be impossible for her to attend any type of training to further her education. However, she knew that she wanted to take care of people. Melinda had always dreamed of being a nurse, but as time passed, her level of confidence continued to drop. During the fall of 2013, she approached Choctaw Nation Career Development for direction and to inquire about funding for CNA training.
Once she became a CNA, she went through the Home Health Aid Training in the spring of 2014. During this time her daughter, Kayla Hobbs Partridge, decided she wanted to go through the Licensed Practical Nurse program at Kiamichi Technology Center. She encouraged her mother to go with her and apply.
The two attended Career Development’s nurse prep workshops and applied at Idabel for the Licensed Practical Nurse program in the spring. They were accepted into the 11-month program which proved to be a very trying time for Melinda. It had been years since she had been in the classroom setting, and because of that, she utilized the tutoring that Career Development provided.
Finally, this summer, she and her daughter graduated from the Practical Nursing School. This was the first mother and daughter team to attend Idabel KTC Practical Nursing. Melinda is a prime example that with hard work and determination, dreams do come true.