Carolyn "Carrie" Sherman (VSN ’84) Cares for Others through Her Nursing Career, Generosity
Saint Louis University alumna Carolyn “Carrie” Sherman (VSN ’84) knows the challenge of earning a bachelor’s degree in nursing while parenting and working. She lived it.
The education of her mother, a registered nurse, was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II and the demands of family life. And her own nursing education story – which she refers to as the “seven-year plan” – took time, money and help. That’s why Sherman recently decided to make it easier for nursing students enrolled in Saint Louis University’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (A.B.S.N.) program to balance myriad responsibilities with a gift of a $100,000 endowed scholarship.
Beginning in the 2028-29 academic year, the new A.B.S.N. Endowed Scholarship in the Valentine School of Nursing will be awarded to a student in the accelerated program who has a history of demonstrated care for others.
“Juggling work, school and a personal life can be difficult,” said Delany Sullivan (VSN '24), a former A.B.S.N. student. As the recipient of a different named scholarship while a student in the nursing school, she said she was grateful for the support that she received and believes Sherman’s new contribution will be extremely beneficial for future students, especially those with dependents. Scholarships, she said, allow people to give their attention to school, increasing their chances of completing the program and making students’ educational dreams possible.
Laura McLaughlin, Ph.D., associate professor and coordinator of SLU’s accelerated nursing program, agrees.
“Students in the A.B.S.N. program often describe being called to nursing and consider nursing a vocation as well as a profession,” she said. “Carrie’s scholarship will make it possible for others with dependent children living in their households to answer the call to nursing at a time when the profession desperately needs them.”
A Lifelong Commitment to Nursing and Education
Sherman’s own nursing journey began in 1967 when she graduated from St. John’s Mercy School of Nursing in Springfield, Missouri. She moved to California to work her “dream job” as an emergency nurse at then-Arcadia Methodist Hospital, a major trauma center in the foothills of the Sierra Madre mountains in California. After five years of learning from and working alongside accomplished doctors and a Navy nurse who had attended to troops wounded in Vietnam, Sherman moved back to the Midwest, which led to marriage, children, a house, a 75-pound dog and a deep desire to earn her bachelor’s degree in nursing to broaden her career opportunities.
Nurses are a major part of the physical and emotional healing of another person. We do God’s work in caring for our brothers and sisters.”
Carolyn “Carrie” Sherman (VSN ’84)
Sherman continued working as a registered nurse when she started her Bachelor of Nursing studies. After her oldest daughter was born, she, like many of her classmates, began juggling her parental duties with work and school. She leaned on her sister, Martha Sherman (A&S ’85), a SLU undergraduate student living in Griesedieck Hall, to babysit when she attended evening and weekend classes. As grateful as she was for her family’s support, however, Sherman understood that not all her classmates were as fortunate.
“We were all getting the degree for our own self-worth, for job security, to help us support our families and to continue helping other human beings,” Sherman said. “It’s a long night when you have to drive, drop off your child, attend class, pick your child back up, and drive home. I was fortunate to have a team of sitters, as well as my mom and encouraging aunties.”
Those long nights eventually paid off. In 1984, seven years after taking her first electives at SLU, 17 years after becoming a registered nurse, and not long after her second daughter was born, Sherman earned her bachelor’s degree from SLU. Four decades later, she continues caring for others through her generosity, providing essential scholarship funds that will support A.B.S.N. nursing students for generations.
“Nurses are a major part of the physical and emotional healing of another person,” Sherman said. “We do God’s work in caring for our brothers and sisters.”
To learn more about the Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (A.B.S.N.) program, visit slu.edu/nursing.