Amanda Mueller

Amanda Mueller is a thirty-year old, non-traditional student at Cuyahoga Community College who is married with a four year old daughter. Pursuing a nursing degree will lead to a second career for Mueller as she previously worked for six years in insurance. After having her daughter, she knew insurance wasn't what she wanted to devote her professional life to. Although nursing had always been a consideration, she was intimidated by the prospect of perusing it as an educational path. Coincidentally, Mueller’s mother, Joann Ranc, had always wanted to be a nurse, but due to life circumstances and familial obligation, had not been able to. In retrospect, Amanda shared, “She was the one that always encouraged me to try nursing and felt like I would not only love it, but be great at it. I decided to give it a try to just see what it was like, and sure enough my Mom was right.”

During the spring of 2016, Joann took an enormous step towards fulfilling her dream and also enrolled in the nursing program on Tri-C’s Westshore campus. Unfortunately, health complications prevented Joann from finishing the term and she has since decided to transfer into the medical assisting program so she can still fulfill her dreams of working in the healthcare industry.

Amanda describes her relationship with her mother as always been incredibly close and that “she has always believed in me more than I believe in myself. Without her influence in my life, I never would have considered nursing, nor decided to try the program. She has been one of my biggest supports and definitely my biggest cheerleader while in the program. She has been such an inspiration in my life for so many reasons and is truly the most selfless person I've ever met.”

When discussing how she selected Tri-C, Amanda shared that cost was a major factor. Not incurring an enormous amount of debt throughout her educational process was a priority for Amanda and her family. At a pivotal point in her educational career, Amanda received the St. Luke’s Foundation Scholarship. “Receiving a scholarship helped make school so much more affordable. I also felt very grateful that someone else saw how hard I was working and wanted to invest in my future in that way. As a student it feels amazing that someone else believes in you and wants to help you in your journey. The semester that I received that scholarship was right in the middle of the program where things were just really hard and you couldn't quite see the light at the end of the tunnel yet, and receiving that help made life feel just a little less overwhelming and it truly meant a lot to me.”

For both Amanda Mueller and her mother, Joann Ranc, Tri-C has been a place where long sought after dreams could be affordably pursued and futures begun.