Michelle Linnekin

There is something surprisingly motivating about waiting on tables. After serving hundreds of successful Charlottesville lawyers and business people, Michelle Linnekin decided it was time for her to do something different with her life.  She enrolled at Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC), completed her Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies (BIS) prerequisites, and was admitted into the program.  

While a BIS student, Linnekin volunteered at a local homeless shelter.  "I had always thought about nursing, but the experience of working at the shelter helped me make up my mind to go on and pursue a nursing degree," she says.  In addition to her BIS courses, Linnekin started taking nursing prerequisites at PVCC. She also chose a topic related to health care for her Capstone project as a way to improve her qualifications for nursing school.

Linnekin's multitasking paid off. She graduated from the BIS program in May 2013. Immediatley, she began her studies at UVA's School of Nursing, where she enrolled in its Master's of Clinical Nurse Leadership program. She graduated--again--in May 2015 with her master's in hand.