Maleah Martin
Maleah Martin of McComb decided she wanted to work in healthcare at the age of 10 after spending two years surrounded by nurses and healthcare workers.
The Owens Community College Registered Nursing student suffered from a congenital brain disorder, arteriovenous malformation (AVM), that sent her to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus at age 8. She once spent three consecutive months in the hospital. She suffered temporary paralysis on her left side as a result of AVM, but regained most of her movement within a few years.
“I really liked how well they took care of me and explained things to me so that I understood,” she said of the nurses. “They took such good care of me. They were my other family. They decorated my room and we had parties. They were super encouraging. When I was 10, I knew I wanted to work in healthcare. That’s all I knew.”
Led by talented faculty and staff with real-world nursing experience, the Owens Registered Nursing program prepares students to be caring and compassionate nurses who will provide competent care for patients and families within a changing and diverse healthcare environment, according to Irene Jones, Owens nursing department chair.
After Owens students complete their nursing education, they are required to take the state licensure exam to enter the profession. Since 2014, the pass rates for Owens nursing graduates have surpassed the pass rates for graduates from other Ohio colleges as well as nationally.
“We have the best nursing program in northwest Ohio,” Jones said. “Many of our graduates are employed in the area and are often sought after by the various healthcare agencies prior to graduation. We have superb faculty who want to see our students be successful in their career as a nurse. Some of our faculty are even graduates of the Owens program.”
Martin, 23, will begin her nursing clinicals with ProMedica in Toledo next month and will graduate in May with an Associate of Applied Science in Nursing – her third degree from Owens. She already has earned Associate of Science (Psychology) and Associate of Arts (Sociology) degrees.
“I’m slowly taking over the wall of degrees,” she said, referring to a wall in her mother’s office that proudly displays all of the family college degrees – two for her mother and one for her brother. “My goal is to go on and earn a bachelor’s in nursing.”
In addition to nursing, the Owens Findlay-area Campus provides more than 20 start-to-finish career-focused degree options and Express dual admission transfer programs, including the Oiler Express with the University of Findlay and Falcon Express with Bowling Green State University.
Featuring the Education Center and Community Education and Wellness Center buildings, the Findlay-area Campus covers more than 60 acres.
“I didn’t know about half of the things that Owens offered until I went there,” said Martin, a student employee in the campus library last year. “Owens has given me the opportunity to get into the workforce and to know what I’m doing.”
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Published January 2022