{"id":47644,"date":"2001-08-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2001-08-03T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2001\/08\/03\/pen-pal-relationship-sparks-career-in-nursing\/"},"modified":"2022-08-29T10:51:57","modified_gmt":"2022-08-29T15:51:57","slug":"pen-pal-relationship-sparks-career-in-nursing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2001\/08\/03\/pen-pal-relationship-sparks-career-in-nursing\/","title":{"rendered":"Pen Pal Relationship Sparks Career in Nursing"},"content":{"rendered":"

A pen pal relationship between a studious fifth-grader at Druid Hill<\/p>\n

Elementary School and a 79-year old senior citizen bore the ultimate fruit<\/p>\n

in May when Dorothea Peak graduated from the University of Nebraska Medical<\/p>\n

Center College of Nursing with a bachelor’s degree.<\/p>\n

In 1989, Peak and other Druid Hill fifth-graders were encouraged to<\/p>\n

write Valentine’s Day letters to elderly local residents. Peak’s pen pal,<\/p>\n

Catherine Wyatt, wrote such a warm encouraging message, the two maintained<\/p>\n

contact for eight years until Wyatt died at age 87.<\/p>\n

“In the time we were friends, Mrs. Wyatt broke both of her hips,” said<\/p>\n

Peak, a lifelong resident of North Omaha. “The second time she was placed<\/p>\n

in a nursing home where she remained. I would visit her regularly in that<\/p>\n

home and saw how much health care is needed to provide for the elderly.<\/p>\n

I was very impressed by the nurses and the way they interacted with Mrs.<\/p>\n

Wyatt and the other patients. Ever since fifth grade, I knew I wanted to<\/p>\n

be nurse.”<\/p>\n

It would be easy and sentimental to say the rest is history, but Peak’s<\/p>\n

destiny to become a registered nurse had some powerful support. The daughter<\/p>\n

of Fred and Rosemary Peak, she has several nurses in her family including<\/p>\n

several cousins, one of whom is a nurse practitioner, and her late aunt,<\/p>\n

Dorothy, who was a nurse at Peak’s church.<\/p>\n

“Aunt Dorothy had this wonderfully caring attitude and was such a people<\/p>\n

person,” Peak said. “I noticed that all my relatives that were nurses had<\/p>\n

personalities that seemed so appropriate for the profession.”<\/p>\n

Moreover, Bishop Dr. Nelson G. Turner, Peak’s pastor at Greater Bethlehem<\/p>\n

Temple-Jesus Only, 2316 N. 25th St, has a nurse auxiliary board led by<\/p>\n

Patricia Tisdale, the school nurse at Fontenelle Elementary School, UNMC’s<\/p>\n

Adopt-A-School. The church unit provides first aid protection during church<\/p>\n

services and educational workshops for members on diabetes and other health<\/p>\n

issues affecting African-Americans.<\/p>\n

Peak has remained focus on her career goal since fifth grade. In 1996,<\/p>\n

she graduated with honors from North High School, where she took every<\/p>\n

available math and science course. While there, she developed a friendship<\/p>\n

with Mary McNamee Ph.D., assistant dean of the UNMC College of Nursing.<\/p>\n

Dr. McNamee, who regularly visits Omaha schools to talk with students and<\/p>\n

identify potential nursing candidates for mentoring and additional guidance,<\/p>\n

became a trusted advisor for Peak long before graduation.<\/p>\n

Yet, none of this supportive network would have been any good without<\/p>\n

Peak’s own insatiable scholarship and enthusiasm. In her high school anatomy<\/p>\n

class, Peak took photographs of a dissected cat so she could study the<\/p>\n

pictures at home and really understand her textbook assignments. Peak also<\/p>\n

obtained permission during her first year of nursing school to observe<\/p>\n

a human autopsy and follow the cadaver through the funeral arrangements.<\/p>\n

“I think some of my friends may not have understood just how much I<\/p>\n

was amazed at the human organism, what an actual brain looks like, or how<\/p>\n

the human arteries are prepped for embalming,” Peak said. “I have enjoyed<\/p>\n

science since I was kid. It was never boring to me at all.”<\/p>\n

Peak’s long-range goal is to enter pediatric medicine. She soon will<\/p>\n

begin work at NHS University Hospital as a nurse in the pediatrics department.<\/p>\n

Later she will begin her course work to become a nurse practitioner. The<\/p>\n

nurse practitioner must have a masters degree, do advanced research and<\/p>\n

receive the kind of extensive instruction that is closer to being a medical<\/p>\n

school student than a nurse. Nurse practitioners are the only classification<\/p>\n

of nurses certified to write prescriptions, so Peak also will undergo extensive<\/p>\n

training in pharmacology. Most importantly to Peak, as a nurse practitioner<\/p>\n

with a medical doctor’s sponsorship, she can open her own health clinic,<\/p>\n

a dream she has long held for her native North Omaha community.<\/p>\n

“I have been blessed to receive great support for my education from<\/p>\n

my church community,” Peak said. “My elders taught me how to hold my own,<\/p>\n

no matter what the circumstances, and how to relate to every type of person.<\/p>\n

At North High School I was often the only minority in many of my advanced<\/p>\n

classes and college was often the same way. But I have always been able<\/p>\n

to form friendships and build study groups and be a well-rounded person.”<\/p>\n

Peak’s future will continue to be fulfilling and busy — starting with<\/p>\n

her November wedding to Daniel Clute, M.D., a fellow church member and<\/p>\n

2001 graduate of UNMC’s College of Medicine. Peak also will continue mentoring<\/p>\n

to church youth and other students throughout Omaha, advising them to focus<\/p>\n

on a goal, work hard in school, and put themselves in a position to obtain<\/p>\n

valuable scholarships to pay for their education. Peak’s hard work paid<\/p>\n

off; her entire nursing school education was paid for through scholarships.<\/p>\n

In a special moment, Peak invited the son of her childhood pen pal,<\/p>\n

Catherine Wyatt, to attend her UNMC commencement.<\/p>\n

“I still have every letter Mrs. Wyatt wrote to me,” Peak said. As a<\/p>\n

little girl I looked after her during her final years in a nursing home<\/p>\n

and, in a way, I feel she’s still a part of my nursing career.”<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A pen pal relationship between a studious fifth-grader at Druid Hill Elementary School and a 79-year old senior citizen bore the ultimate fruit in May when Dorothea Peak graduated from the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing with a bachelor’s degree. In 1989, Peak and other Druid Hill fifth-graders were encouraged to write […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","department-press-release"],"yoast_head":"\nPen Pal Relationship Sparks Career in Nursing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A pen pal relationship between a studious fifth-grader at Druid Hill 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