CU Nursing - Commencement Spring 2020 - 5

5

G R A D U AT I O N

&

C O N V O C AT I O N 2 0 2 0

C O M M E M O R AT I V E E D I T I O N

Adoption
Leads to
Compassion
and a Calling
By Dana Brandorff

A

ll he wanted was a
plastic toy car. At 4
years old, that was
what Josh Harrington
wanted and he was
going to get it.

P R O U D PA PA

O

By Dana Brandorff

riginally trained as a physical therapist
in her homeland of Germany, Sabs
Sheppard chose nursing after moving
to the U.S. 12 years ago. After working
with nurses for years, she realized that the
profession more closely aligned with her goals
and ambitions to work in critical care.
In Germany, "Nurses don't have the same
type of training or respect," said Sabs.
When she told her father she was going back
to school to become a nurse, he was incredulous.
"He said, 'Why would you change careers to
become a nurse?'" But after he visited last
summer, toured the Anschutz Medical Campus,
talked to Sheppard's professors, and saw her
in action, he was floored. "He said to me, 'It all
makes sense now. I can't wait for you to graduate
and be a nurse.'" For Sheppard that was a big
moment for father and daughter.
As a single mother, Sheppard has worked
hard to juggle nursing school and work while
raising her two daughters. When asked if she
ever regretted going back to school to pursue
nursing, she responded, "I wish I would have
done it sooner so that I could already be
out there and do so much more than what I
am doing now! My passion for the nursing
profession as well as knowing that my parents
are proud of me is what drives me and solidifies
that I have chosen the right path."

Wandering off to the local grocery
store with pennies in his pocket,
Harrington had no idea what he
had done.
For him and his two sisters (ages
7 and 1), it was the end of a rough
"first few years of life. And the
beginning of something good."
After the store clerk called the
police - they went to his home,

According to the Adoption
Network, adoption rates of foster
children began improving in the
late 2000s. By 2014, 50% of children
in foster care were adopted, nearly
30% spent at least three years in
the system, and the average age
of a waiting child before adoption
was 7.7 years old. "It was rare to be
pulled out of CPS - especially three
siblings. For whatever reason, they
made a recommendation to my
parents and we spent negligible
time in the system."
Now one of five children,
Harrington was the only boy in a
sea of girls. "I was the pesky little
brother," he said with a grin.
After graduating from high
school, he signed up for the
Marine Corps Reserves where he
has served for the past 10 years.
In addition to the Reserves,
Harrington stepped into a certified nurse assistant role in an
assisted living facility. "I didn't

Josh Harrington
surrounded by
his sisters.

removed his sisters, and placed all
three of them into the foster care
system. Deemed unfit because
of behavioral health issues and
drug problems by Child Protective
Services, Harrington's biological
parents faded from the picture.
"We got lucky," said Harrington.
"We were adopted by the most
awesome family and had a normal
childhood."

know something was missing
until I stepped up into that role.
There's something fulfilling
about caretaking." After community college and one semester at
Metropolitan State College, he
applied to CU College of Nursing
and was accepted. "Nursing is a
profession of compassion. I see it
as a way to give back because of
what I've been given."
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