CTK Class of 2012 Alumna Pursuing her Passion for Nursing

Brittany Williams, CTK Class of 2012 felt a calling to go into nursing. Her mother’s mother, her grandmother, had been a nurse and Brittany always wanted to follow in her footsteps. Stories of her deceased grandmother shared with Brittany by her mother and Auntie, helped to motivate her to earn her BS Nursing degree from Southern Illinois Carbondale in 2017, and to be able to proudly celebrate her 4-year work anniversary as a Clinical Nursing Supervisor with Advocate Healthcare on April 29th. 

Brittany took a “leap of faith” to enroll as part of CTK’s first graduating class. Her mom liked the unique opportunity the Corporate Work Study Program offered her daughter. Brittany leveraged her interest in nursing to secure positions at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital as a freshman, and Accelerated Rehabilitation Centers as a sophomore. She also worked at the Hub Group for her last 2 years. In addition to valuable early exposure to health care, she mentioned, “I learned professionalism. The work study jobs help put CTK students in a position to thrive later in their careers. I’ll never forget learning the proper way to give a firm handshake and good eye contact. It says you are prepared for anything.” Brittany also participated in cheerleading, National Honor Society, Student Ambassadors, and service experiences at CTK. She credits her two summer college experiences at Georgetown University and Missouri University of Science & Technology for broadening her horizons and building confidence that she could be successful anywhere. She proudly graduated as CTK’s first valedictorian.

After completing her nursing studies and training at SIU, and passing the Registered Nursing boards, Brittany started her first nursing job at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in September 2017. Her hospital-based role in the Medical Stroke unit provided valuable nursing experience, but Brittany had always wanted to work in a community-based setting. In 2019, Brittany started with Advocate Medical Group N. Clark as a RN with the Internal Medicine Residency Department. She has thrived in an out-patient practice focused on providing primary care of patients, administering preventative treatment and establishing on-going relationships. After a year, she was promoted to Clinical Nursing Supervisor overseeing Internal Medicine, Internal Medicine Residency, Endocrinology, and the Immediate Care Center. She currently supervises 24 total co-workers. In her role, she helped lead COVID-related process changes to ensure the safety of all patients and staff members. “I love working at Advocate in primary care. We treat a diverse population of patients, and I feel like I’m part of something major. I absolutely feel valued at Advocate. It’s like a family.” In the future, Brittany would like to run her own clinic. She is grateful there could be growth opportunities for her at Advocate, including operational positions like becoming a Practice Manager.

She offered advice to the current CTK seniors embarking on their own college and career paths. “Always choose Faith over Fear. You don’t know what’s on the other side. You are going to have fears, but you need to just do it. Opportunities will be presented to you because you are ready for them. You need to believe you will succeed if you put your mind and energy into it.”  Brittany should serve as an example of someone whose belief in herself has allowed her to pursue her passions, and establish a successful career.