UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — For Kim Fenstermacher, being a nurse was never a question, she said. Growing up, she was inspired by her grandmother to help others through medicine, often playing with nurse dolls and wearing a nurse’s cap as a young girl. Although her maternal grandmother’s dreams of being a nurse never came true due to lack of educational opportunity, said Fenstermacher, her parents worked day-in and day-out at strenuous manual labor jobs to help her pursue her dream career in nursing.

Now, after overcoming life’s obstacles and completing her bachelor of science in nursing, master of science in nursing and doctoral degree, Fenstermacher is serving as the Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing’s 2023 commencement speaker for the college's Graduate School. Fenstermacher said she hopes to convey words of affirmation and encourage students to find what makes their heart sing and brings them joy in their future endeavors through her speech.

“I don’t know everyone’s individual journey, but I know it wasn’t easy because they did it during COVID and a changing economy,” Fenstermacher said. “It’s hard work to get a graduate degree on a good day, so if you layer on the complexities of the world, kudos to them for staying the course.”

As a first-generation student, she worked two jobs to make ends meet and pay for her subway fare to get to clinicals while in her undergraduate studies at Boston University. While working in a NICU in Harrisburg, Fenstermacher met Kim Doheny, a former Penn State faculty member, who encouraged her to come to Penn State to get a master’s degree.

Upon finishing her master’s degree in 2004, the same faculty member approached Fenstermacher in 2006 and urged her to come back again to Penn State to do her doctorate. While in her doctoral program, Fenstermacher’s father and grandmother both became sick with long-term illnesses, and Fenstermacher was forced to switch gears to become a caregiver. After months-long illnesses, both her father and grandmother passed away within 18 hours of each other. Feeling doubtful of her abilities to balance a career, motherhood and her education during this difficult time, Fenstermacher says that the Penn State faculty took her under their wing, cheering her on every step of the way.

Ten months later, Fenstermacher was once again forced to hit the pause button when her mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, leading her to push back her dissertation defense date. Still, the Penn State faculty rallied around her to ensure she made it to the finish line.

“The Penn State graduate faculty were so incredibly helpful to me on my journey,” Fenstermacher said. “They understood that real life happens when you’re a graduate student, and they came alongside me to really support me in those ups and downs.”

Judith Hupcey, associate dean for research and innovation, nursing professor and Fenstermacher’s dissertation chair, served as a beacon of hope during this grueling time, and Fenstermacher attributes much of her perseverance to Hupcey who motivated her to keep going.

Fenstermacher then received an NIH F-31 doctoral training grant from the National Institute for Nursing Research which funded tuition and research costs, allowing her to graduate without any debt. Along the way, Hupcey was by her side along with her mother who cheered her on from the hospital, just minutes away from York College where Fenstermacher would become a faculty member after defending her dissertation.

Now serving as the assistant dean of nursing at Messiah University, overseeing the Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Master of Science in Nursing, and Doctor of Nursing Practice programs, Fenstermacher said she tries to emulate the Penn State faculty in the ways she interacts with students, hoping to make an impact the way that faculty has impacted her.