Ashley Wojnowski

Ashley Wojnowski enjoyed playing with her toy medical kit when she was a child.

"It was a birthday present from my parents, so I practiced on them, my brother and my sister - basically, anyone who would sit still long enough for me to examine them," said Ashley, who graduated in 2010 from the Lorain County JVS Allied Health Sciences Program.

Ashley is now reaping huge dividends from that practice - helping sick and injured people recover to celebrate their birthdays - as an RN at the University of Toledo Medical Center.

"Our wing is always busy, treating post-surgery patients, patients being transferred from the ICU, and traumas from car accidents, assaults, & other serious injuries," said Ashley, 22, who earned her UT Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2013 and works the 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift in the Step Down Medical Surgical Unit.

"College was in my plans and my JVS classes made the transition to the University of Toledo much easier," she said. "I liked the idea of hands-on activities, studying human anatomy and physiology, and becoming certified as a nursing assistant, which allowed me to work and attend school at the JVS."

A stint at Welcome Nursing Home in Oberlin during her senior year convinced Ashley that nursing was in her blood.

"I wondered if I had the right stuff to succeed in health care," said Ashley, who helped bathe, dress and feed people at the nursing home. "I discovered that I did while working this job."

Ashley credits her teachers at the JVS, especially Mrs. Wallace, who shared stories about her nursing career with students.

"Relating her experiences really helped put everything into perspective. She shared her experience about everything from patient care, to being professional to budgeting your time," said Ashley, a National Technical Honor Society member who received the Outstanding Student Award at her JVS senior recognition ceremony.

Ashley's brother, Nick, will start the 2014-2015 school year as a student in the JVS Plumbing and Pipefitting Program. A JVS education is a family affair for the Wojnowski's, of Wellington. Ashley's father, Tim, was a 2009 grad from the Emergency Medical Technician Program; and mother, Tricia, received her medical assistant certification in 2010 from the JVS Adult Career Center.

"I guess we don't have to worry about getting sick," laughed Ashley, who is excited about the future, and her career in healthcare. And it all began at the Lorain County JVS, where the Allied Health Sciences program was a catalyst for higher education.