Tena K. Hall

Tena enlisted in the Army as a flight paramedic and transferred to the National Guard. In 2001, she enrolled in South East Louisiana University and began taking prerequisite nursing courses. During her junior year, she was called to active duty and spent a year in Colorado at the Soldier Readiness Station, Fort Carson. When she returned to Louisiana, the University informed her she would have to wait one year before continuing her studies. Rather than wait, Tena enrolled at the Charity School of Nursing, New Orleans. On her second day at school, Tena was deployed again because of Hurricane Katrina. While working at the Super Dome, Tena met a Navy corpsman who was graduating from Excelsior College.

Stable

Tena was attracted to Excelsior because of recommendations and the ability to stay with a program no matter where she was deployed. She started at Excelsior in February 2006 and finished her associate degree in nursing in November 2007. Her experience led her to enroll again at Excelsior for a Bachelor of Science in nursing degree. “I didn't have to worry about being pulled out of a program. I can continue with Excelsior no matter where I am sent."

Flexible

With an autistic son and a husband on active duty in Iraq, Tena found the time to study thanks to her mother and Excelsior’s course offerings and examinations. “I took an exam every two weeks, studying every day. I read my texts in between drawing blood."