Husband, wife graduate with nursing degrees

Lesley and Michael Leach receive their nursing degrees.

It’s often said that the family that prays together stays together. Well, Michael and Lesley Leach are two people who take togetherness to a whole new level. The couple raised three children, worked outside jobs and still managed to fulfill their dream of graduating from nursing school at the same time.

On Dec. 10, they donned caps and gowns amd walked hand-in-hand across the stage to receive their bachelor’s of science degrees in nursing from the UNMC College of Nursing.

Lesley, whose dad used to manufacture plastic heart valves, dreamed of becoming a doctor. She also dreamed of spending her first year of college at a historically black college or university. As a result, she turned down a full ride scholarship to the University of Nebraska at Omaha and enrolled at Lincoln University, a historically black university.

When she returned to Omaha at Christmas, she took a job at the post office to make some money over the holidays. “At the time, I enjoyed making money more than going to school,” she said. “I finished my year at Lincoln and then joined the post office fulltime as a management trainee in 1992.”

Lesley and Michael Leach train on a computerized patient simulator, with Martha Foxall, Ph.D., professor, and chairperson, PCAES department, College of Nursing.

Not surprisingly, Lesley did very well with the post office. In just a few years, she was transferred to Tulsa, Okla., where she managed a team of employees. There, Leslie noticed a smart, athletic man who worked in the finance department. Eventually, Michael Leach introduced himself. The two hit it off when they discovered they shared so many of the same values – Jesus Christ and church participation, education and soon, a lot of respect and love for each other. They married in 1994 and had two children, Mike Jr., 9, and daughter, Kennedy, 8.

Michael had his own inspiration toward a medical career. His mother was a registered nurse. After high school, he served as a medic in the U.S. Army for seven years – four years of active duty and three more in the reserves. Michael is a veteran of Desert Storm, the first war against Iraq.

Out of the military and back with Lesley in Tulsa, Michael rejoined the post office, too. But, Lesley wanted to come back to Omaha because she missed her family. They also realized that they wanted their children to really value getting a college education and the best way to do that was to set the example themselves. They resolved to move back to Omaha where they would have a lot more family support and develop a plan for side-by-side college degrees.

“Lesley and I were both making good salaries with the post office,” Mike said. “But we also knew that that career was not something either of us wanted to do in the long run. We wanted to work in fields where we were able to serve more people directly – to feel like we were really making a difference in people’s lives. The eventual focus on nursing came from those conversations. We both knew we wanted to touch others, help make their lives bearable, and come home at the end of day feeling like we had really done something.”

Lesley was able to transfer back to Omaha and stay with the post office, but Michael had to resign. When he came to Omaha he found his own eclectic path to employment. He worked as a staff member of the Douglas County Youth Center, and for three seasons, also played for the Omaha Beef football team. Lesley eventually began teaching fitness at the Butler-Gast YMCA, and both embarked on a bodybuilding and fitness routine.

The Leach family including from left, niece Kelsie Shields, Lesley, Kennedy, Michael Jr., Michael Sr. and Cayden Leach.

“We knew that if we were going to go to school fulltime, work and raise our children, we would need to keep ourselves in very good physical condition,” Lesley said. “Otherwise, we might soon run out of energy ourselves or develop some health issues that could knock us off track.”

The couple enrolled in the pre-nursing program at UNO in 2000 and then in 2002, transferred to UNMC’s College of Nursing.

“We had originally considered majoring in sports medicine, but it seemed like that might be difficult to develop career-wise,” Michael said. “But with nursing, there are so many specialty areas a nurse can work in, we felt that we’d not only always be able to find work – there’s going to be a huge shortage of nurses for some years to come – but that we would never get bored.”

So how do two people manage an intensive college academic program, work, physically train and raise three kids at the same time?

“We have to stay very, very focused,” Lesley said. “We’ve been on our routine for so long; it’s become second nature for the house. The kids are in bed at eight. No discussions about it. Michael and I have to get to our homework, exercise routines and all our personal stuff after the kids are tucked in. We are just a time management house. Our children understand and go with the flow. You raise your children to do what has to be done so that the entire family can take care of business and prosper together.”

And prosper they do. Mike Jr. attends the Jesuit Middle School and also plays running back and defensive back for the “Lil Viks” football team. His team, coached by dad Michael, took the league championship in 2004. Kennedy attends the Columbian Middle School and is an outstanding scholar and musician. Baby Cayden, 6 1/2 months old, was born during the Leaches’ last year of nursing school.

Lesley Leach has accepted her first nursing position at Alegent Immanuel Hospital in post-intensive care. Michael will begin his first position in the cardiac progressive unit at UNMC/The Nebraska Medical Center. But, the Leaches aren’t through with their nursing education.

In the next two years, they will apply – one at a time – for training as a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA). CRNA certification is a master’s degree program, but the nearest schools are in Iowa, Missouri and South Dakota, so they will have to leave home to get their degrees. But, you can bet the Leach family will make a plan, find a way and get all of that done, too.