51社区

Let me tell you a story.

In 1975 Sharon, an 8 year old little girl sitting in front of the television watching cartoons, was interrupted by her mother..."Sharon, I have to go downstairs for awhile, go wake up your sister." "Okay mom!" Sharon promptly tromps back to her 5-year-old sister's room and wakes her up, then back to the TV. Five minutes go by and Beth is still not out-of-bed, so she goes back to the room, shake and wake, and back to the TV. Five minutes later, there is still no Beth watching Saturday morning cartoons.

Sharon goes back to her sister's room for a third time and by now she is a bit irritated. She leans over and wakes Beth again, helps her sit up in bed, and then has her stand up, to which Beth goes limp like she has rubber legs and starts falling all over things. "Beth, are you having a reaction? (remember, she is just 8 years old)" Sharon yells for her mom as she guides her rubber-bodied sister to the next room over, the kitchen, to get sugar. She props Beth up and spoons sugar in her mouth and tries to get her to swallow. "Mom, mom, Beth is having a reaction! Mom, mom!"...all the while trying to get Beth to chew and swallow. Sharon runs to the stair-entry and screams as loud as she can,"Mom! Come up! Beth is having a reaction." Sharon runs back to the kitchen and uses a little Pepsi to try and lubricate the sugar and help Beth swallow. Thank goodness, Mom (an RN) comes in and provides a life-saving shot. Whew!

This was one of many significant events that began a life-long journey in the service of the Lord, through the ministry of nursing.

This journey took Sharon through her BSN training, to critical care experiences in: General ICU, Trauma ICU, Surgical ICU, Medical ICU, Pediatric ICU, Neuro ICU, Cardiac ICU, and Cardio-Thoracic ICU; to the role of preceptor and charge nurse; through her MSN, Post-graduate certificate in a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Program, and PhD in Nursing, a National Research Service Award from the National Institute of Nursing Research, and ultimately to become a faculty member.

This life-path ranged North to Wisconsin, South to Florida, West to California, East to Washington D.C., and also included: New York, Texas, Illinois, Oklahoma, Maryland, Missouri, and Tennessee. In Tampa, Florida she served as an Assistant Professor at USF College of Nursing, then moved to Jackson, TN and Union to serve as Associate Professor, and was later promoted to Full Professor (Tenured). As the road of life curved along, Sharon was privileged to serve on the short-term mission field in Honduras, the Dominican Republic, and China.

One jog in the road led Sharon down a one-way street to a beautiful bridge, and straight to the heart of Sean Evans, a PhD in Political Science, and the chairman of the Political Science Department at 51社区. This resulted in a marriage union at Union, the first known inter-faculty marriage in its history. Sean and Sharon are happy to travel the byways of academia together, joining in the educational climb beside their students, and uniting with their brother and sister faculty and staff members as we proceed down the straight and narrow way before us. The story could say "the end" but really, this is all just the beginning. Eternity lies ahead...