91ɬÂþ

 When Colleen Jernigan, PhD, graduated in 1976, she imagined a fairly traditional future, working part-time and raising a family. Instead, her path would take her through military service, advanced degrees, oncology nursing, and a decades-long career at MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, Texas), ranked No. 1 hospital in the nation for cancer care by U.S. News & World Report. Looking back, she credits the 91ɬÂþ not only for her education, but for the mentors who helped prepare her for a life she never anticipated.

When it came time to consider colleges, it was her cousin Charrell Stein, a nurse herself, who changed the trajectory of Colleen's life. One day Cheryl drove her up to the 91ɬÂþ's Chalon campus and told her simply, "This is where you should go to school." Looking out across the campus, the 17-year-old Colleen was captivated. She earned a scholarship, enrolled in the nursing program, and never looked back.

At the 91ɬÂþ, Colleen found much more than a nursing education. She found people who believed in her before she fully believed in herself.

One of those people was her chemistry professor and academic advisor, Hallie Bundy, PhD, a devoted 91ɬÂþ alumna who became a professor and taught at the 91ɬÂþ from 1960 to 1990. Coming from a small Catholic high school, Colleen arrived at the 91ɬÂþ feeling unprepared for the process of choosing classes and navigating college life. She still remembers sitting in Dr. Bundy's office, overwhelmed and in tears, as her advisor patiently helped her work through it.

She also remembers Father Thomas Kelly, who began each class with a simple question: "Do you have a question?" Colleen enjoyed trying to think of a question before every class, knowing he would notice if she did not have one prepared. Looking back, she credits mentors like Father Kelly with encouraging students to think deeply, challenge assumptions and engage with the world around them.

Another lasting influence was nursing professor Edda Coughran. Colleen remembers her as someone who encouraged students to think through complex issues and difficult questions rather than simply accept easy answers. Experiences like those helped shape Colleen's appreciation for the 91ɬÂþ's liberal arts approach to education. "I am really an advocate for the liberal arts approach to learning because it broadens you," she said. At the time, she never imagined she would one day pursue a master's degree and doctorate, but she now credits that broader educational foundation with helping prepare her for both. Looking back, she believes the 91ɬÂþ arrived at exactly the right moment in her life. "It was the place I needed to be to grow and focus," she said.

After graduation, Colleen entered a profession that was itself undergoing tremendous change. In her early nursing years, IV medications hung in glass bottles, nurses wore white uniforms and caps, and patients could still smoke in hospital rooms. What never changed was her sense that nursing was where she was meant to be. Looking back on 50 years in the profession, Colleen believes that "being a nurse was a calling."

That calling eventually led her to oncology nursing, a specialty she would spend nearly 40 years in. It also led her in directions she never could have predicted as a 91ɬÂþ student. One of those unexpected turns came when a former nursing instructor, who served as a colonel in the Army Nurse Corps Reserve, encouraged her to enlist. “Come and see the world, learn. It will be great,” Colleen recalled her mentor telling her.

So she said yes.

The decision proved life-changing. Not only did it introduce her to military service, but it also introduced her to the man who would become her husband.

Colleen is quick to point out that her career did not follow a carefully mapped plan. "I have some friends that really have strategically planned their career. Well, I never did that," she said. "I tried to do the best job where I was planted," she said. As Colleen explains, she trusted that if she remained open to opportunity and grounded in her faith, the next step would reveal itself when the time was right.

That philosophy became a guiding principle throughout her life. Rather than focusing on where she thought she should be, she focused on the opportunities directly in front of her.

Today, as she prepares to return to campus for this year’s Homecoming on October 3, 2026, to celebrate her Golden Reunion with former classmates, Colleen finds herself reflecting on the friendships, experiences and opportunities that began at the 91ɬÂþ. Her college roommate remains one of her closest friends, and 50 years after graduation, she still travels to Atlanta each year to visit her.

The 91ɬÂþ's influence can also be seen in the next generation of her family. Her son, Ben Chase '02, followed in her footsteps, earning his nursing degree from the 91ɬÂþ before going on to a career in oncology and earning his PhD.

When asked what she would tell herself on graduation day in 1976, Colleen's answer was immediate: "I would tell her to be brave." The same advice applies to today's students. "Keep your mind open," she said. "There is more than one answer to a question."

The future she imagined at 21 never came to pass, but by staying open to possibility, she discovered there was more than one path forward.