Confident and well-prepared, Scott Kearney began his new career as a staff nurse in Memorial Hermann’s shock trauma ICU unit in September 2009. His fellow co-workers assumed that he was an experienced nurse with a degree from a four-year nursing school. However, Scott surprised them all when he told him that he is a proud alumnus of HCC’s Coleman College for Health Sciences RN program.

Scott, who graduated from Coleman just a month prior to starting his job in the world’s largest medical center, did not always dream of becoming a nurse. After enlisting during his senior year of high school and serving our country as a United States Marine, Scott received an honorable discharge at the rank of Corporal and began the next chapter in his life. In 1995, he received a bachelor’s of science in education from Texas A&M University. After receiving his degree, he held various positions in the customer service, information technology and retail industries, but always felt that he was being called to do more. He first considered a career in nursing after befriending Calvin and Laurie Jones, both of whom are registered nurses in the Texas Medical Center at Memorial Hermann Hospital. Though he considered making a career transition, at the time he could not justify returning to school, especially when he already had a degree.

A few years later, with the idea of nursing still in the back of his mind, Scott attended an information session at Coleman College. He followed up with additional research on nursing programs in the region. His decision to enroll at HCC was cemented after discovering that Coleman graduates have an 11% higher pass rate on the state’s nursing boards than their peers from other institutions. The Texas State Board of Nurses presented HCC Coleman's Associate Degree Nursing (RN) Program a commendation in honor of its students passing the state licensure exam at a 94.4 % rate in 2008.

Scott dove into his studies at Coleman, while also finding time for student leadership. He served as president of both the Undergraduate Nurses in Training (UNIT) (NSNA) and Coleman’s Student Government Association, in addition to volunteering at Methodist Hospital, serving as a peer tutor, and working part-time. During his final months in the RN program, he reconnected with Calvin and thanked him for inspiring his switch to the nursing field. That encounter led to an interview at Memorial Hermann and his eventual hire. Now Scott is able to put his compassion for others to good use while caring for critical intensive care patients in one of the top trauma hospitals in the world.

Since graduating, Scott remains committed to his “get involved” mantra and will be among the founding members of the Coleman College Chapter of the HCC Alumni Association once established.

“I am proud to be an HCC alumnus,” Scott says. “The most successful students were those who dove in and ate, slept and breathed nursing school in order to get the most out of their short experience as a student nurse. I’m grateful to have been able to fulfill my passion and develop my nursing skills at Coleman College for Health Sciences and for the family, friends, faculty, staff and students who made it possible.”