通过皇冠体育和SAU取得成功

在Mount Mercy大学和St. Ambrose大学讨论机构合作关系之前，Nichole (Clefisch) Plagge是两个机构提供的学术机会的受益者。  

Nichole majored in 生物学 and 心理学 at Mount Mercy, graduating in 1997. 随后，她在皇冠体育获得了物理治疗专业的研究生学位。 这使她走上了一条专业道路，并使她成为目前在锡达拉皮兹仁慈医疗中心担任物理治疗和肿瘤物理治疗师临床经理的角色。  

“I feel both schools have very strong academic programs, have solid leadership and visions, and can embrace the mission-based roots that both of them have,” she explained, “to create an exceptional environment for students with so many opportunities.” 

Nichole是拥有两种环境的个人知识的精选个人之一，这是她学术之旅的一部分，使她对机构合作的好处有了独特的看法。 

“As someone who attended both institutions, I see this as an incredible partnership, with so many positive opportunities,” she explained. “Both institutions have done very well in creating strong academic programs, graduate programs, leadership programs, and so much more. 所有这些现在都将对学生开放。 I am excited to see how this progresses and what the future holds for this partnership.” 

妮可尔从高中一年级就开始设想自己在医学领域的未来。 她从家乡爱荷华州的古登堡来到仁慈山，打算成为一名医生。  

“Coming from a small town and a small school, I knew I wanted to go to a smaller college where I would still feel connected to the community,” Nichole recalled. “我看了几所学校，当我来到Mount Mercy的校园参观时，我觉得这是一个完美的选择。” 

在Mount Mercy的导师Frank Jaszcz博士的指导下，她发现自己在科学和生物学道路上所提供的机会方面表现出色。 

“I still feel today that my 生物学 degree from Mount Mercy is one of the strongest science degrees in the college realm,” Nichole said. “I ended up with a double major in 生物学 and 心理学, as I found 心理学 to be not only fascinating, but a valuable asset to a career in medicine.” 

“直到今天，我仍然觉得我在芒特梅西大学获得的生物学学位是大学领域中最强大的科学学位之一。” —尼科尔（克利菲什）1997年的Plagge

为了积累经验，尼科尔开始在仁慈医疗中心做志愿者，最终成为一名物理治疗的永久志愿者。 That led to a weekend job as a rehabilitation technician, and after seeing the important role of rehab in changing people’s lives, she made a decision to pursue physical therapy as a graduate degree. 

“I applied to three physical therapy schools, and St. Ambrose in Davenport was the one that, again, felt like home, had a strong program, and was the right fit for me,” she said. “The professors were not only excellent academically, but made sure we were all compassionate, caring clinicians as well.” 

2000年，当她在皇冠体育（St. Ambrose）获得研究生学位时，Mercy Medical Center开设了一个物理治疗师的职位，此后她一直在那里工作。 目前，她负责监督11家物理治疗诊所和住院物理治疗服务，管理51名员工和部门预算、人员配置、扩展计划和增长、流程开发、跨学科项目以及所有行政职能。  

尼科尔说，她在Mount Mercy和圣安布罗斯中学到的东西帮助她为职业上的成功做好了准备。 

“Mount Mercy’s excellent 生物学 and 心理学 programs, the dedicated professors from those programs and their true interest in students provided the guidance and direction to allow me to get into physical therapy graduate school,” Nichole said. “The physical therapy program at St. Ambrose was outstanding. Didactically, I felt very prepared for a career in physical therapy and confident to explore the many realms of the profession.” 

尼科尔认为，随着这两所大学现在将各自提供的课程结合起来，学生将有更多的选择，并获得更好的学术体验。  

“I think St. Ambrose and Mount Mercy can bring different program opportunities to both of their students, and provide more graduate paths,” she said. “Overall, for a student to have the ability to have two amazing colleges available to them, in two different cities, both with so many different things to offer, is quite the package.” 

除了学术之外，这两所学校都本着同情的精神，鼓励学生过一种服务的生活。 That ethic continues to drive Nichole—her many volunteer pursuits include the Cedar Valley Humane Society, 回家ward Bound Siberian Husky Rescue, Live by Living (a cancer survivorship group), Especially for You Race Against Breast Cancer, the Indian Creek Nature Center, and the Mission Advancement Committee at Mercy Medical. 

此外，妮可通过她在Mount Mercy校友会的服务回馈社会。  

“Giving back to the community and volunteering is a core value for me, and something our whole family has invested in,” said Nichole, who lives in Cedar Rapids with her husband and three sons.   

“Catherine McAuley said ‘We should be shining lamps, giving light to all around us,’” she added. “I feel volunteering allows us to share our light with others who need it.”