This year’s Women’s History Month Theme, “Providing Healing, Promoting Hope,” is a tribute to the work of caregivers and frontline workers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. These individuals – including countless Castleton alumni – sacrificed their personal safety, time with family, and bravely met the challenges that came their way.
Castleton invited three alumnae currently working in healthcare to share their experiences at a virtual panel discussion on March 29. The event was moderated by Carrie Savage, Castleton’s director of development and alumni affairs, and featured alumnae Adrienne Williams ’00, Nicole Moran ’04, and Kerry Detweiler ’12.
Williams currently works as a neurosurgery/neuro-oncology nurse practitioner at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. In her role, she is responsible for working with patients throughout their time at Dartmouth, from intake to the perioperative phase to their transition to medical oncology. She also develops support groups specifically for individuals with glioblastomas, is involved with research, and performs bone marrow biopsies in the surgical center. She has experience in medical surgery, neurology, hospital medicine, trauma care, and as organ donation coordinator for New England Organ Bank – a role she celebrates as being transformational in her career.
William’s daughter, Reilly, followed in her footsteps and graduated from Castleton in 2020 with a degree in Nursing. Because of the pandemic, Reilly’s pinning ceremony was held virtually. This allowed Adrienne to pin her daughter, who sat in the audience and cheered her mother on at the same event 20 years earlier.
Moran is the chief clinical operations officer for VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region in nearby Rutland. The path to healthcare wasn’t as straightforward for Moran, who as a child dreamt of being a marine biologist and later wanted to pursue a career as a high school science teacher. She enrolled in Castleton’s Natural Sciences program but soon realized being a teacher wasn’t the right fit. Classes in microbiology and anatomy and physiology excited her and she found herself reflecting on her natural tendency to take care of others. After graduating from Castleton, Moran took a position in cardiac care. During this time, her grandmother passed away and that experience led her to hospice care. She soon found herself in a clinical manager role, which led her to her current position in healthcare administration.
Detweiler works as a public health nutritionist for the State of Vermont. Her path to healthcare came following a sports injury in high school that led her to physical therapy with an athletic trainer at a clinic associated with her local hospital in New York. Detweiler fell in love with sports medicine and imagined herself in the field, which led her to Castleton’s athletic training program. During her time at Castleton, she began to explore some of the other areas she was passionate about, including nutrition.
After completing a post-baccalaureate certificate that provided her with hands-on experience, she became a registered dietician and accepted a position at the EDGE Sports and Fitness in northern Vermont. In her current role, Detweiler works with the WIC program, which serves pre-and postnatal women and infants and children, in a role that is a unique blend of public health and increasing access to health resources.