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Summer Kindley '24 isn’t afraid to push the boundaries. Her journey at Lenoir-Rhyne is different from the traditional student but defining moments have helped her push those boundaries toward her career goal. 
 
“I want to get things done,” Kindley said. “I want to be able to make an impact on the world as quickly as possible even though I’m still young. I have big hopes for myself. I want to eventually earn my doctorate because I want to be a psychiatric nurse practitioner.”

Kindley, a first-generation student, is part of the Regionally Increasing Baccalaureate Nurses (RIBN) program at Lenoir-Rhyne and Catawba Valley Community College. The program provides a four-year nursing option that concurrently enrolls students in a community college and LR. Students complete both their associate degree in nursing and bachelor’s degree in nursing. One of the benefits of the RIBN program is that Kindley will earn her associate degree in nursing and then work as a registered nurse during her last year of completing her bachelor’s degree at LR. 

After earning her CNA in high school, Kindley initially worked at J. Iverson Riddle Developmental Center, a state-operated center that provides services and support to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Morganton, North Carolina. There, she settled her purpose to be a psychiatric nurse practitioner.

“At J. Iverson Riddle, I fell in love with my residents,” she said. “They warmed my heart every time I went to work, especially when I was able to do activities, like play games or watch movies with them. I got to feed them, and there was an actual need for me there, knowing that I had a bigger purpose being there to help them.”

Study abroad experience broadens worldview

As part of her experiential learning in the RIBN program, Kindley spent the summer studying at Alicante, Spain, a popular tourist destination set on a hilltop with a sweeping view of the Mediterranean coast. 
 
“I have a dream for travel, and I want to see the world and indulge in the different cultures,” Kindley said. “Once the opportunity presented itself, no matter the cost, I was going to Spain.”

Fortunately, the summer cohort, sponsored by LR’s William and Robert Shuford Center for International Education, provides financial support to diversify study abroad participation and allows RIBN students to complete their core language requirements. Kindley and four other students received scholarship funding as well as airfare expenses. The integrated experience focused on oral comprehension and expression, listening comprehension and grammar.

In addition to the language and grammar, Kindley studied the culture alongside peers from the United States as well as the Netherlands, Ireland and Japan. While in Spain, Kindley enjoyed hiking the Rock of Calpe and snorkeling and paddleboarding. 
 
On one excursion, Kindley and her classmates visited the castle of Santa Bárbara, a medieval fortress that overlooks the Levante coast. On another tour, she saw the natural waterfalls and picture-postcard perfect views of Fuentes del Algar, otherwise known as Algar Fountains.

“It was absolutely beautiful although the water was freezing,” Kindley stated. “It was the clearest blue water I’ve ever seen.”

While earning college credits, Kindley is appreciative of the donor-funded experience. 
  
“This opportunity was absolutely life changing because it gave me a better perspective on worldly views, and I feel like it made me more responsible and allowed me to grow up,” Kindley stated. “I now feel like I can answer questions better to serve other cultures better and show respect for them. It was just all-around life changing.”