Student Profile: Khasey Ann Ibañez
BSN Student Balances Nursing School, Motherhood, and a Long-Awaited Dream
For Khasey Ann Ibañez, becoming a nurse has been a dream more than ten years in the making.
Now in her first year and second quarter of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, Khasey describes her transition back to school as both meaningful and surprisingly smooth, even after nearly eight years away from the classroom.
“So far, so good,” she said. “I haven’t been in school for maybe eight years now, and the transition from working full time back to school was honestly pretty well. I mean, I was pregnant, but it was good for me—an easy transition.”
Khasey has worked in a nursing home for ten years, where she began on the administrative side. Working in that environment gave her a close look at both healthcare and the people who serve in it. Although nursing had always been her goal, the cost of nursing school and the responsibility of supporting a family made the path difficult.
“My plan in the beginning was I really wanted to be a nurse,” she said. “Financially, I couldn’t support going to nursing school. But everything kind of fell into place last year.”
After a conversation with her boss, Khasey decided it was time to pursue the goal she had carried since graduating high school. “I told him, ‘I really want to go into nursing school,’” she said. “And [now] I’m here. I signed up for nursing school, and I got in. It was a ten-year-long way. It was long awaited.”
Khasey credits her family, workplace, classmates, and AUHS support system with helping her take this step. She said her husband is her biggest support, while both her family and her husband’s family help care for her children when she is in class or studying.
“It really takes a village if you have kids,” she said. “I have two kids now, and the village is what helps me. It keeps me going.”
That support became especially important when Khasey gave birth during the quarter. She knew when she entered the BSN program that her due date would fall during the academic term, but she was determined to continue.
“I knew I was pregnant signing up for the BSN program, and I was like, ‘I’m going to do it. I’m just going to make it through,’” she said. “We survived the first one. We’re going to survive the second one.”
The timing was challenging. Khasey went into labor around midterms, gave birth, and still returned to class. During her pregnancy, she continued communicating with her group members, completing assignments, and planning ahead in case she went into delivery early.
“It was hard,” she said. “This pregnancy was a little bit harder to carry. I would have to sit in a particular position for me to even get to studying or get my brain going. But I think what helped me the most was my group.”
Her cohort became an important source of encouragement. Khasey said her anatomy group was supportive from the beginning, and they worked together through one of the most demanding seasons of her life.
“My classmates in my cohort are amazing,” she said. “Through it all, even through labor, they were so supportive. Everything I needed, they were helpful. And of course, vice versa. I did the same thing. I’m not going to fall behind. I knew what I signed up for.”
One of the most memorable moments of Khasey’s quarter came when her professor and classmates surprised her with a baby shower. After Khasey told her professor, Dr. Candelario, that she was pregnant and might give birth during the quarter, he asked if she was comfortable sharing the news with the class. Soon after, the cohort celebrated with her.
