How Auja Boatwright Balanced Parenting, Work, and Nursing School

Auja Boatwright was already an experienced healthcare professional, having worked as a lab assistant, in the emergency department, and as a patient care technician. As a single mother raising three children, Auja doubted that she could also go to school.

When her daughter began struggling with math and questioning whether she liked school, Auja encouraged her to believe in herself. Then she realized her words could carry even more weight if she showed her daughter what perseverance looked like.

That realization helped lead Auja to enroll in the Practical Nursing program at ECPI University’s Columbia campus. Balancing school, her parental duties, and work was about more than just reaching a goal for herself. It gave her the opportunity to become an example of persistence and confidence for her children.

How did being a parent influence your decision to go back to school?

Auja: As a single mom of three, I have to work to provide for them and I didn’t think going back to school was possible for me. Then my oldest daughter started struggling with math. I got her a tutor and encouraged her, but one day it clicked for me. Instead of just telling her, I wanted to show her.

When I started at ECPI University, I went back to her and said, “Look at Mommy. I’m starting school and doing this with you.” I think seeing me do it helped her understand that I wasn’t just telling her she can do hard things; I was trying to live it, too.

How did you balance nursing school with being a parent?

Auja: Because I was a mom and still needed to work, I knew I didn’t have time for a traditional program. I went to class in the morning and worked at night.

I was tired, but I was there. And once I started, failure was not an option for me. Everything was straight forward about what I was going to be doing each semester and exactly what was going to happen next. I still had to balance everything, but that structure and schedule helped me plan and prepare.

What was your experience like in the Practical Nursing program?

Auja: I’m a hands-on learner. We had a simulation lab where we worked on things like intramuscular and subcutaneous injections. We also did a triage simulation where we had to figure out which patient needed to be seen first and who could wait a little longer.

Everything we did in the lab, clinicals, and the job I have now, I have moments where I’m like, “Oh, I know how to do that because ECPI taught me how to do that.” I feel confident in inserting myself to help out in whatever situation because of my experience in the hands-on learning labs.

What was your pinning ceremony like?

Auja: It was very emotional. Ever since I could remember, I just had a sense of needing to help people. My mother passed away when I was young and she was pursuing nursing. My grandmother raised me and she was a nurse and I have two sisters that are nurses.

My baby sister pinned me because she became a nurse before me. She was a huge motivator for going back to school too, telling me, “you’ve got to go back.” Having her pin me brought everything full circle and was a tear-jerking moment.

What was it like stepping into your first position as an LPN?

Auja: I had a professor who was very knowledgeable about psychiatric care, and I took everything I could from her class because I knew that might be an area I wanted to pursue.

In the first two months of training as an LPN on the psychiatric floor, my manager was asking my preceptor if I was going to be a good fit and she spoke highly of me and even left me a note on my computer telling me that I was going to do awesome work here. That really solidified that I was doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing.

What advice would you give to parents interested in going back to school?

Auja: Once I started having kids, I put my education on the back burner.

I thought I wasn’t going to have the opportunity because I had kids, but ECPI definitely made it flexible for me. There was nothing hidden about the program's expectations. I knew what I was getting myself into, and I didn’t have to sit on a waiting list.

I’m a single mother of three kids. If I can do it, you can do it too.

For Auja, returning to school was about more than just a degree. It was an opportunity to show her children what it looks like to overcome challenges and move toward your goals.

During her time at ECPI, she managed classwork, full-time work, and motherhood with support from her family along the way. Her degree program helped her confront her self-doubt and pursue a goal she had always wanted to achieve.

Auja plans to continue her nursing education and build on what she’s already accomplished.