A Surgical Success: How Nichelle Boyce Achieved Her Dreams With CWI
Nichelle Boyce turned challenges into opportunities, transforming her life and launching her career as a surgical technologist with determination and support from College of Western Idaho.
Resilient and determined, Nichelle Boyce, a graduate of College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Surgical Technology program, has turned challenges into opportunities. From teen motherhood to a thriving career, her journey is a testament to perseverance and the power of support in achieving dreams.
Boyce's drive to forge her own path, graduate ahead of schedule, and begin her journey into higher education was discovered as a teenager. At age 15, she discovered she was pregnant — a significant life change at any age, but especially so for one so young. Rather than being daunted and delaying her educational plans, Boyce did the opposite by moving her timeline up and heading off to college early.
A Rocky Beginning
Her first year was marked by rocky challenges — from being a mother amidst thousands of traditional freshman students to two hospital visits during final exams week — resulting in an incomplete semester and student loan debt.
“It was hard in lots of ways, including with friends. They’d want to go out and do things that I just couldn’t because I needed to be home with my kids,” Boyce said. “In addition to that, the relationship I was in had become very unhealthy. By the time I decided I needed to leave [the university], I had two children.”
Rather than completely giving up, Boyce reoriented and chose to attend CWI — looking back she believes this was the best choice she could have made. Not only did she find high-quality, caring faculty, but tuition was more affordable and access to scholarships and online classes helped her to be flexible.
Another differentiator between CWI and her previous university was the student body, many of whom were also “untraditional,” with differences in age, culture, life experiences, and socioeconomic status. “Because there is such a good mixture of students at CWI, there weren’t cliques like there can be in traditional institutions,” said Boyce. "If someone was struggling, almost everyone was willing to sit down and help them figure it out, and that was true in most of the classes.”
Support & Sacrifice
To make her educational aspirations a reality, Boyce balanced multiple jobs — all while being a single parent. In addition to hard-earned income, help also came in the form of the LTH Don’t Give Up Scholarship. Established by former CWI employee, Nikki Irving, its purpose is to help single parents achieve their dreams of going to college.
Boyce says because of scholarships like this she was able to remain debt-free. “I was able to get to where I wasn’t just surviving, but also even thriving. I could start to clear my mind and focus on being a mom and reaching my goals.”
Her path, however, had never been without sacrifice and her two young children were along for the ride. She remembers telling them, “I know you guys are sick of not being able to do so many things, but we still have a lot of goals to accomplish. How about when I’m done with school, we start saving for a trip to Disneyland?” The kids were all in!
Education Leads to Job Offers
After working through CWI’s Surgical Technology program, it came time for Boyce to start clinical rotations at local hospitals for on-the-job training. “I went to several different hospitals, and every single one of them offered me a job. I was able to start working before I even graduated.”
Now with the job that she had worked so hard for, it also came time to save. To help the kids see how they were progressing towards their Disneyland trip, she printed a simple chart for them to track progress. Every time they saved $100, her children would color in one of several pictured Disney characters.
“The kids kept at it. Finally, we got them all filled in and went to Disney! It was surreal because I never thought I'd be able to take my kids to do something like that,” she said.
For Boyce, another poignant moment came a few months after starting her career as a Surgical Technologist at a Boise hospital. “It took me a while to really comprehend everything that happened. I remember I was sitting there in my living room, and I was like, I can't believe that I can finish my shift, drop the kids off at school, and come to a home that’s ours and where all our stuff is,” said Boyce. “I don't have to worry about anybody hurting us and it feels safe. I feel safe, and I couldn’t believe I’d taken my kids to Disneyland!
Still Dreaming
On the College’s Nampa Campus, construction of the new Health and Sciences Building is well underway as the College expands to meet growing demand. At a ceremony marking the “topping off,” or placement, of the final metal beam, Boyce was invited to attend as an honored guest. Along with her two children, they had an opportunity to sign their names before the beam was lifted by a crane and secured into place. It was a significant moment for program faculty, state and local officials, and students alike, but especially so for the young surgical technologist and her children.
Boyce has long advocated for the education and experience available at CWI. Now, with her natural enthusiasm for surgical technology and the tools she prepares daily for life-saving surgeries — not to mention her gritty tenacity — her story is being featured for the trauma hospital, Saint Alphonsus.
Passionate about continuing to develop her education, her desire to dream big continues; “I’m thinking about going back to school for biomedical or mechanical engineering.” While she contemplates returning to school, hopefully she and her children also get to return to Disneyland.
Interested in a career in healthcare? Investigate opportunities through CWI’s Health Programs.