As a linebacker for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Tim Miller uses his body to tackle opponents. But it’s his intellect he uses when he tells people he’s studying to be a nurse.
The 6-foot-1, 215-pound sophomore who grew up on a farm near Elmwood, Neb., isn’t bothered by the ribbing he gets from fellow athletes. Instead, he uses it as an opportunity to educate others on the role of nurses.
“The usual reaction … I relate to the movie, ‘Meet the Parents,’ ” said Miller, who wears No. 58 for the Big Red and is enrolled in the UNMC College of Nursing Lincoln Division.
In the comedy movie, Ben Stiller plays a hopeful future son-in-law of Robert DeNiro, a retired Central Intelligence Agency agent. DeNiro’s character reacts in surprise and is somewhat disappointed when Stiller tells him he’s a nurse.
“Once I get the opportunity to explain what I do, they have respect because I know about the human body. I’m not self-conscious about it. Usually people aren’t very knowledgeable about all the things nurses do.”
Miller said his high school decision to become a nurse was influenced by two aunts who are nurses, and his brother, Bryce, a practicing nurse and former Cornhusker football player.
“It hit me, the vast job opportunities and the ability to go anywhere and practice nursing,” he said. “I like to help people, make friends and joke with people to make them feel better.”
Miller plans on tackling his professional nursing goals with the same zest as football.
After he gets some experience in intensive care nursing, he wants to go to school to be a nurse anesthetist. He is motivated by the challenge to work in the demanding intensive care environment. “I need the challenge. There are a lot more things you have to worry about.”
He looks forward to working 12-hour shifts, which will allow him to work fewer days during the week. “It gives you an opportunity to have hobbies and I like to hit it hard. I’m kind of a perfectionist too.”
One of his current hobbies takes place on the farm, not the football field. He has two, 4-feet-long pet crocodiles — Big Jaws and Little Jaws — that live in a man-made lily pond, complete with a waterfall.
These days, Miller doesn’t have much leisure time.
“It’s difficult to play football and go to nursing school,” Miller said. “Some classes are going on while practice is running and because of my time commitments, I can’t hold a job. I’m also getting married this summer. I have had the Lord to help me get through all the tough times in the past and I know He will get me through them at the moment and in the future.”