CU Nursing - Fall/Winter 2019 - 22

G R A D U AT I O N

in hometown Tucson, Arizona. "They
have the hearts of nurses. "I think that's
why we forged such a deep connection
during our doctoral program. We have
so much in common at our core."
All raised by caring, successful nurses,
the trio's mothers became built-in mentors, colleagues and friends, they said.
"We have a lot to talk about," Tarasenko
said of her and her mother, KimRenee
Breen. Tarasenko remembers touring
her mother's hospital with her Girl
Scout troop as a kid and being inspired
by a preceptor experience her mom set
up for her the year before she enrolled
in nursing school.
Left to right: Patti Stumbo, Kara Snyder, Sandra Merkel, Martha Grubaugh,
KimRenee Breen and Lindsey Tarasenko pose during graduation ceremonies.

Passing the Torch: Mothers Inspire
Daughters in Nursing Careers
By Debra Melani

rowing up with two heroes - a firefighter dad and a
nurse mom - Lindsey Tarasenko knew early on that
she wanted a job focused on giving back.
For Martha Grubaugh, there were some early signs,
including being the go-to girl in the neighborhood
when the area kids got hurt.

Kara Snyder, on the other hand, denied her destiny
for as long as possible. Watching her single mom work
hard as a nurse while raising her, Snyder vowed early on that she would
never join the profession.
Turns out, it was in her blood.
All three women have nurses for moms, something they realized after
forming a bond during their doctoral programs. The trio received their
PhD's together this spring from CU.

'WE HAVE SO MUCH IN COMMON AT OUR CORE'
"I am completely inspired by Lindsey and Martha," said Snyder, perioperative services director of nursing at Banner University Medical Center

CU College of Nursing | Fall/Winter 2019

"It had a lot of continuity of care,"
Tarasenko said of the clinic where her
mother worked at the time. "So the
nurses practiced to their full scope, and
they were able to practice different roles
in one clinic."
It was that diversity - the realization
of the vast opportunities a nursing
degree offered - that hooked her, said
Tarasenko, now magnet program director for Children's Hospital Colorado.

'MY MOTHER IS AN
INCREDIBLE MENTOR'
Once they all made the nursing leap, the
three women found they had a slight
advantage in school: Mom.
"My nursing school was on the same
campus as the hospital where she
worked," Snyder said of her mom, Patti
Stumbo. "I would come over at lunch
time and go over everything I was learning, and she would talk to me about how
it looked in practice.
Grubaugh's mother, Sandra Merkel,
said her daughter called often during
college, especially when she was excited
about something or in need of some
emotional or professional support.
"I remember when you called home and

CU Nursing - Fall/Winter 2019

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