Receiving care from nurses inspired these HPU students to pursue the profession, too.
HIGH POINT, N.C., May 5, 2025 – High Point University Teresa B. Caine School of Nursing Class of 2025 graduates Madi Kee, Katie Gaines and David Lombardi say HPU’s world-class nursing program brought them together and prepared them to provide top-notch care for their future patients.
All three landed full-time nursing jobs before graduating with the Bachelor of Science in Nursing on May 3. Kee will begin her nursing career in the pediatric emergency department at Atrium Health Levine Children’s Brenner Children’s Hospital in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Gaines and Lombardi will start their nursing careers in the Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital Emergency Department in Greensboro, North Carolina.
“I decided to become a nurse during my sophomore year at HPU when I unfortunately became a patient,” said Kee, who is from Locust, North Carolina. “I had an amazing nurse who made me feel truly cared for as a person and not just as a patient. She brought a sense of comfort to me during the scariest moment of my life, and I was inspired to do the same for others.”
Lombardi, who is from Boston, Massachusetts, had a similar experience that led him toward the nursing profession after he initially started HPU’s pre-med program with intentions of becoming a medical doctor.
“I had surgery during the Christmas break of my freshman year, and I never saw my surgeon once,” he said. “I had nurses surrounding me the whole time, caring for me. I knew that I liked human interaction, the bedside manner part, more than just medicine. When HPU announced the nursing school, I decided to take the plunge, and I switched majors. It’s a decision I’ve never regretted.”
Gaines was inspired by her mother, who also is a nurse, and their family’s experience of taking care of a great-grandmother after she broke her hip at age 99.
“I knew I always wanted to work in health care, but during that time of taking care of her when she was in the hospital after having hip surgery, we ended up having to put her in a nursing home because she wasn’t able to walk anymore,” Gaines said. “During the time after she turned 100, we interacted with some unkind nurses. At that point I knew I wanted to be a nurse who is empathetic, kind and caring to the patient, but also the family as well.”
Nursing is a great opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives. -Katie Gaines
Finding the right size school
Before arriving at HPU, Lombardi and Gaines had opposite experiences in their large or small high schools. Both found the small size of classes at HPU’s nursing school to be a good fit.
Lombardi came from a high school of approximately 2,100 students with 35-40 students in each class.
“Coming to this program, especially the upper division portion having a small cohort, we all grew such a bond and leaned into each other,” said Lombardi, who was co-president of the 2025 nursing cohort. “It was a no-man-left-behind mindset. We dragged each other along at times. It’s the rarest and hard to do, but nice to know you have the same people with you in the weeds and trying to chase the same dream.”
Gaines was accustomed to having only 15 people in her classes at her small high school in Asheboro, North Carolina. “Having the same thing here was really nice,” she said. “We’re close and we can help each other out so you don’t feel like a small fish in a big pond. It’s a great environment in a smaller class.”
All three graduates say HPU’s smaller class sizes, unmatched mentorship and consistent support are responsible for their many successes.
“The small class sizes allowed for more individualized attention from faculty members, allowing me to foster strong relationships with my professors and receive one-on-one help in my weaker areas,” Kee said. “They did a good job of preparing us for the work. The professors are all so willing to meet with us one-on-one and help us. They wouldn’t have had that much time if we were in classes of 50. They also did a good job of preparing us to find jobs and gave us the skills and resources on that side, such as teaching us about our resumes and how to find remarkable jobs.”
The humility of HPU professors—coupled with the small student-to-faculty ratio—allows students to form bonds with notable mentors. Despite impressive accomplishments and years of experience, HPU faculty never let titles stand between them and students. The nursing faculty offered a structured curriculum but was able to alter it when needed, Lombardi said.
“Different professors have figured out how to adapt what they’re teaching to best suit the needs of the majority in our group,” he said. “The professors in the school of nursing also did a great job of letting us dip a toe into our specialties.”
Rebecca Gurley, an assistant professor of nursing, recalled watching students mature from their first semester of memorizing and repeating.
“Being able to understand and apply is demonstrating critical thinking, and that’s what they need for clinical judgment,” she said. “That has been our goal. It took these students most of the first semester to get there, but by the time they hit the second semester you could see these light bulbs coming on and you could see that understanding.”
“Being with them in the beginning and seeing where they started and now seeing where they are. They’re ready and capable to be a nurse,” said Dr. Stefanie Smoot, an assistant professor of nursing. “They’ve been prepared well with the skills and knowledge to be competent and confident. It’s been a huge transformation. I think they are more than ready to go out wherever they’re going to work.”
Finding jobs that fit their goals
I am so blessed to say I have lined up my absolute dream job at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Brenner Children’s Hospital as a nurse in their pediatric emergency department.
-Madi Kee
“I decided I wanted to work in a pediatric ED after our summer pediatric clinical rotations because it combined my love for emergency medicine and working with children and their families,” Kee said.
Gaines said she thinks ER work will provide her with a good baseline.
“You’re constantly seeing new patients, new conditions and getting them admitted to a new floor or wherever they need to be to recover their health,” Gaines said. “I want to get that good basis of working in the Emergency Department, for especially the first year, because I think it also makes you look more valuable if you’re going in other directions because you have that baseline and so much knowledge in different areas of health for the patient. I thought I wanted to go into the Emergency Department before I did my capstone, but that solidified my decision for me. I got accepted during that time, and I’m grateful.”
“I’ve always wanted to do the ER because I honestly like being put in situations that have a lot of pressure in them,” Lombardi said. “Sometimes the right amount of pressure helps me think more clearly. I enjoy how complex it is. These patients who come in to us don’t have a chief complaint or diagnosis. It really gives you that challenge to critically think through what are the signs what could be going on? I did my capstone as well as Katie in the same ED that I’m now going to be working in. Their team works so collaboratively. I always said I never wanted to work nights, but they gave me an option and I chose nights because I can get a lot more opportunities to try and learn things. The Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy teams are not there at night, so it gives the nurse a greater scope than if everyone is there during the day. Plus, I can be a little bit adrenaline-seeking.”