FREEPORT — Growing up in the Sterling-Rock Falls area, Amanda Larry of Rock Falls, and her sister Ashleigh Chapman of Sterling graduated from high school not thinking about the career path toward a nursing career until they both married and raised families.

Both worked in the healthcare field, Larry as a Medical Assistant, and Chapman as a CNA. It would take a dream Larry had one night that told her the sisters should return to school to study and become registered nurses. They talked it over, explored colleges that would fit their needs, and found the part-time nursing program through Highland Community College to fit their academic needs while making it possible for them to still work and provide for their families.

Chapman said she always liked helping people, having worked with the disabled in the past. Larry worked as a medical assistant but wanted more. She said she hungered for additional knowledge to explore a rewarding career in nursing.

It has taken more than two years for the sisters to complete their studies and they graduated together with Associate of Applied Science degrees on May 21 from Highland Community College.

“I got into the medical career to become a medical assistant, and it just wasn’t enough for me,” Larry said. “I had a dream that spoke to me that Ashleigh and I should return to school to become registered nurses. I spoke with my sister, and we agreed it was something we should do together, so we did our research on programs that best fit our needs and schedules, and we chose Highland, and come graduation day, we will realize that dream to come true.”

Chapman adds, “I love patient care. Nursing will lead me to that rewarding feeling that I can make a difference, and change someone’s life. My sister and I did our clinicals together, and it has been more than two years of work, study, and travel, and now we get to live the reality.”

Both sisters are married with children. The part-time nursing program offered by Highland is what made a dream become a reality.

“Our instructors helped guide us, support us, and made sure we had the instruction we needed to be able to work in a career we both chose,” Chapman said. “Education does not stop as we get older. We both have families. We made it work.”

Both look forward to graduation day, each addressing the emotional feeling they have leading up to the day they don their caps and gowns.

“I know it will be an emotional day for both of us,” Larry said. “It’s like they say, if you dream it, you can become it.”

For more on the nursing program at Highland Community College, visit highland.edu.