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A conversation with Bow Valley College alumni and instructor Cassidy Norris
After graduating high school in 2017, Cassidy Norris moved to Montreal to pursue Judo professionally. When her career as a professional athlete was cut short due to injury, she decided to return to Calgary with the hopes of becoming a respiratory therapist. This resulted in a journey of trial and error while trying to find a suitable respiratory therapy program in Calgary. Cassidy was dissatisfied with her options and decided to change her focus to Practical Nursing and Bow Valley College was the obvious choice for her.
“What I didn’t expect was to enjoy nursing so much. I ended up finishing the program with plans to bridge to RN,” Cassidy says. “I think the best thing about the program for me was that I was gaining hands-on clinical experience right away.”
Looking back on the Bow Valley college experience, Cassidy distinctly points at her clinical 2 rotation in an acute care setting as one of her most valuable experiences.
“My instructor was Pat Hyde. She was an inspiring, caring, and exceptional instructor. It was because of her influence that I applied to become an instructor myself at the College last year,” she says. “I love watching my students develop into confident and knowledgeable nurses by the end of a semester. By teaching my students the importance of patient safety above all, I am instilling these values as they graduate and go on to provide care to Albertans.”
As a part of the Bow Valley College alumni community, Cassidy shared some advice with our graduating class of 2022. “If you have an area of interest, pursue it to the best of your abilities. Not sure where you want to end up? Try new things!”
