Story and photos by Logan Jackson
Sherri Ulbrich has built a career caring for others as a registered nurse and educating the next generation of nurses as an associate teaching professor at the University of Missouri. While she didn’t envision a career in nursing or teaching, an adolescent Ulbrich wouldn’t be as surprised that she found success in those fields.
“It’s really interesting to look back at specific moments that didn’t have a deep meaning at the time, but they did set the stage for the future,” Ulbrich said. “I was introduced to nursing care when I was 8 years old, and my dad had a major surgery. I helped a lot with changing dressings and cleaning the surgical site. I had younger siblings and any time we played school, I was always the teacher. I was also a 4-H kid, so I regularly presented and led demonstrations. I didn’t realize it at the time, obviously, but those were tiny moments that led me here.”
There was a rather large moment that gave Ulbrich the confidence to pursue her interests at the collegiate level – she attended the Missouri Scholars Academy (MSA) before her junior year of high school. The Academy has brought together thousands of curious high school students over its 40 years of existence, providing them special opportunities for learning and personal development. Coming from a rural town, Ulbrich found it to be an experience that opened a world of possibilities.
“When I arrived, I immediately found a group of individuals who loved to learn just like me,” said Ulbrich, who attended the very first Academy in 1985. “My peers were asking meaningful questions, and all the teachers really encouraged us think outside the box. It was just incredible. I truly believe the Missouri Scholars Academy sparked my love of academia.
“I hadn’t really thought about much beyond high school. There was a fairly new community college in my town at the time, and I thought that could potentially be an option for me. Through the Missouri Scholars Academy, the world just exploded in front of me. I realized there were so many opportunities out there for me to explore.”
MSA allows students to pick a primary area of study and Ulbrich said she was involved in a humanities-related field throughout the Academy. Ulbrich added that her academic passions were in those fields and a nursing immersion program – offered through Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri – allowed her to further explore potential careers.
“I really loved to write and express myself in that way,” Ulbrich said. “I really thought English was going to be my major when I eventually got to college. A recruiter from Rockhurst University shared that they had a great humanities program, but I should also look into nursing. They were creating a new program tied to nursing and had a summer program that I decided to check out. I loved it. I knew that’s what I wanted to study in college.”
Ulbrich earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Rockhurst University and a master’s degree in nursing from the University of Texas at Arlington. After a stint as an assistant professor at Grambling State University, she found her way to Mizzou to complete a Doctor of Philosophy degree. Ulbrich was an instructor in the Mizzou Sinclair School of Nursing for a couple of years while she finished that degree and then spent a couple of years as an instructor at Central Methodist University. She returned Mizzou in 2006 and has been educating Tigers ever since. Ulbrich has also kept her registered nursing credentials updated, working as a staff nurse at Fitzgibbon Hospital in Marshall, Missouri.
“I feel very blessed that I’ve gotten to do both in my career,” Ulbrich said. “I’ve worked with so many great nurses and doctors, and I’ve been able to interact with so many outstanding students. It’s just really rewarding.”
Ulbrich has been incredibly active within the Mizzou Honors College, too, as an affiliate faculty member and as part of the curriculum committee. She has played an important role in bringing more course opportunities for nursing students who are pursuing the Honors Certificate as well. Personally, Ulbrich’s Honors sections of nursing courses allow Honors students to gain extra hands-on experiences.
“I love working with all my students, including those in the Honors College,” Ulbrich said. “It’s really fun to engage with Honors students. It my sections, I’ve had them take on some advanced simulations, which is something students don’t normally have access to as undergraduates.”
Ulbrich said her philosophy with Honors students has been to showcase multiple opportunities and have open discussions about what the students would like to pursue.
“We have rich discussions about what they are interested in,” Ulbrich said. “There is a lot of newer technology coming every year, so there is plenty of hands-on activities for them to participate in. Honors students have so many opportunities for skill development, and we’re also working a lot on communicating with the patient and their families. Those conversations are a very important part of nursing that does take practice to develop.”
The Mizzou Honors College and the Sinclair School of Nursing have partnered on a handful of experiences over the past few years, including inviting the Cherng Distinguished Scholar to speak to nursing students. Also, the Panda-Mizzou Scholars program, made possible by a donation from the Panda Charitable Foundation, supports Honors students pursuing majors in education or healthcare-related fields.
“It’s exciting to see this relationship grow,” Ulbrich said. “I’m glad that our nursing students, especially those in the Honors College, are able to have these experiences.”