Titeus Welch started nursing school with decades of life already behind her, a young son watching her every move, and two parents who believed in her completely. She lost both of them — one each semester — during her first year. Still, she kept going. On May 6, she graduates from ý River State ý with her associate degree in nursing, and she already plans to start her bachelor’s program in August.
A Mission, Not Just a Career
Titeus didn’t choose nursing for a paycheck. She chose it because helping people heal — guiding them through a health crisis at their most vulnerable — felt like a calling. “The idea of helping individuals heal and helping them navigate a healthcare crisis was really important to me,” she says. “It’s actually a mission in life.” She had started a university degree in her twenties but never finished. That unfinished business stayed with her for years. Eventually, she decided to do something about it.
Returning to School After Decades Away
Titeus enrolled at The River in the fall of 2022, more than two decades after her first attempt at college. The doubts came immediately. “I had a lot of trepidations,” she admits. “I had been out of school for a couple of decades.” She also worried about sitting in class with students young enough to be her children. Those fears dissolved quickly. “I fit in perfectly,” she says. “The students were extremely welcoming. There wasn’t an age gap like I thought there would be.” The community at The River pulled her in, and she stayed. “I started to doggy paddle initially,” she says with a smile, “and then I started to swim.”
The Hardest Year: Losing Both Parents
In her first semester, Titeus’s father passed away. During her second semester, her mother followed. She lost the two people who had been her greatest supporters in the span of two semesters. “I was like, how am I going to keep going?” she says. “My two main supporters are no longer here.” She had to dig deeper than she ever had before. What kept her moving was purpose — the knowledge that this was exactly the right moment, even if the circumstances were devastating. “I knew this was the time,” she says. “I just knew.”
Studying for Her Son
Grief aside, Titeus also carried a different kind of motivation: her young son. She wanted him to see, up close, that it’s never too late to chase something meaningful. “I needed to show him that he could do it no matter what age he was,” she says. The late nights studying, her son asking her to come to bed — all of it made sense in the end. “It was well worth it. Trust me.”
Faculty Who Prepared Her to Heal, Not Harm
Titeus speaks about The River’s nursing faculty with deep respect. In clinical settings, she watched how hospital staff reacted when The River’s students arrived on the floor. “They were elated to have us,” she says, “because they knew their day was going to go so much smoother.” One statement from a faculty member lodged itself permanently in her mind: that nurses have the power to heal — and also the ability to harm. The faculty took that responsibility seriously, ensuring every student left the program genuinely competent. “We look forward to healing the community once we graduate,” Titeus says.
Scholarships That Kept Life from Falling Apart
The awarded Titeus scholarships across three separate semesters. For a student navigating nursing school while managing grief, a young child, and all the demands of adult life, that support proved critical. “Life is still happening while you’re in nursing school,” she says. “The Foundation really helped me balance the financial side and make sure nothing fell through the cracks.” She is deeply, genuinely grateful.
President of the Student Nurses Association
Between coursework, clinicals, and everything else, Titeus also led. She served as president of The River’s chapter of the National Student Nurses Association, organizing community initiatives, campus activities, and participation in the Alzheimer’s Association’s annual walk. Her reasoning goes beyond resume-building. “Nursing and leadership go hand in hand,” she says. “You’re going to need to advocate for your patients — and if you’re already in that leadership role as a student nurse, you’re already prepared.”
Bonds Built Across Four Semesters
The friendships Titeus formed in the program are another thing she carries out with her diploma. “People come from different walks of life, and then you come to the same college for the same purpose,” she says. “You create bonds that are lifelong.” Those friends answered the phone on the hard days, talked her down from the edge of quitting, and reminded her why she started. They grew through the same four semesters together, and they graduate together too.
May 6: Taking It All In
When Titeus walks across the stage on May 6, she plans to slow down and feel every second of it. “I know the journey that led to me getting onto that stage,” she says. “It has been a long, long journey — but so absolutely rewarding.” After graduation, she starts her bachelor’s program at The River in August, with nurse practitioner school on the horizon beyond that. The woman who once worried about fitting in has become a leader, a caregiver, and an example — for her son, her classmates, and anyone who thinks it might be too late to begin.
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